Ouch! That hurts! A lot! Get the cart and take this guy back to the locker room. Let’s check out his (insert body part here) and…oh my…this doesn’t look good. Let the coach know he’s done for the year and put him on injured reserve.
That scene has played out across the NFL countless times this season. Because of how often it’s happening, we have enough players to put together an amazing team of players who are or have been on injured reserve this season.
We took into consideration players on the traditional injured reserve list as well as those who have had a stint on the designated-to-return injured list as well. This was going to be an end-of-season feature but we have enough talent down for the count that we can do it now.
Without further delay, let’s meet the All-IR Team for 2013.
Quarterbacks: Sam Bradford and Jake Locker
Bradford looked to be on the brink of a breakout year. He had 1,687 passing yards with 14 touchdowns and only four interceptions to lead the Rams to the point of being a possible contender for a wild card spot. He tore his ACL and that was the end of him. The Rams haven’t been the same with Kellen Clemens under center.
Locker saw his season end with a dreaded Lisfranc injury in his foot in Week 10 against the Jaguars. It was a non-contact injury which made this scarier. He finished with 1,411 yards and 10 total touchdowns on the season. The Lisfranc is a difficult one to come back from. He can ask divisional rival Maurice Jones-Drew how he did with his.
Aaron Rodgers didn’t go on IR with his collarbone injury otherwise he would have been a lock for this list.
Running Backs: Arian Foster, Doug Martin, David Wilson and Shane Vereen
What a quartet we have here. Foster was felled by disc issues in his back that required surgery. Martin was cut down by a torn labrum. Wilson had neck issues and Vereen was on the DTR-IR with a broken wrist. All of these backs are dual-threat in both the running and passing game. Wilson was poised for a big season with him as the lead back for the Giants but it never materialized because of injury.
Wide Receivers: Julio Jones, Reggie Wayne, Randall Cobb and Jeremy Maclin
Jones broke a screw in his foot to end his season, Wayne tore knee ligaments. Cobb stayed on the DTR-IR and is unlikely to make it to the field this week. Maclin didn’t make it out of training camp. The loss of Jones was a big part of the Falcons having a miserable season. The Colts without Wayne come out flat in the first half of games and have to rally back for wins. The only good thing is the rest of the AFC South is even more miserable that the Colts already have their division wrapped up. Cobb was eligible to come back two weeks ago but it seems more and more likely he won’t see the field again this season after breaking his leg in Baltimore. Maclin tore an ACL in training camp and missed out on being a part of the high-flying Philadelphia offense.
Tight Ends: Rob Gronkowski and Dennis Pitta
Gronkowski firmed his spot on this team when he took a low hit this past week and tore two ligaments in his knee. His 2013 season has been miserable. He missed several games at the start of the season recovering from arm and back surgeries. The Patriots needed him badly this season and injuries cut down his productivity.
Pitta was a training-camp casualty with a hip injury that left it in doubt if he would even see the field this season. The Ravens put him on DTR-IR and he made his triumphant return against the Vikinigs. Pitta injected some life into the Baltimore offense with a 6-48-1 line in the wild win over Minnesota.
Kicker: Lawrence Tynes
Tynes was brought in to replace Connor Barth after Barth tore his Achilles’ tendon in a charity basketball game over the summer. Tynes was set to be the Bucs’ kicker this season but infection cut his season short. Tynes was one of three players who was severely impacted by the MRSA outbreak that hit the team facility during the preseason.
You don’t need a chart or even a graph to see how these guys make the All-IR team with various injuries or even staph.
As always, leave your questions and comments below. Hopefully we’ve helped you out with the various reports to get you into the playoffs or even win your league.
