10 Promising NFL Careers Derailed by Injury

Every player in the NFL at one time or another has been hurt or injured "in the line of duty." Some injuries are just hard to watch, unexplainable and too upsetting to see again and again.

Welcome to the NFL's version of the M*A*S*H unit—the injuries that were so bad, they essentially took these players and their careers out of action.

And for some, it was the last time we heard from them.

Now, we can make a case for others who could have made this list. And there is a separate list of players whose injuries were not caused by the game, but were caused by serious injury or death (Joe Delaney, Derrick Thomas, Gabe Rivera, Larry Gordon, David Overstreet).

But these players specifically (and yes, there are more) had good—if not really good—NFL careers cut short by a devastating injury.

And for those of us who had a chance to see them play, we saw a little bit of brilliance at least once during their NFL careers.

LeCharles Bentley

Bentley was one of those cases where the career was way too short because the talent was way too good.

He played six seasons for the Saints and Browns and had to retire because he could not recover from an injury to his torn patellar tendon in his knee suffered in 2006 before the start of the season.

He sued the Browns in 2010, saying he got a staph infection from the Browns for having him rehab at their training facility. Bentley claims the infection did not allow the tendon to heal properly.

Bentley, when he was in the league, was as good as any center there was in the NFL.

Tony Boselli

He was a good tackle while he was in the NFL until shoulder injuries ruined his career.

Boselli was the first draft selection of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1995. That move set the tone for how Tom Coughlin would coach this team. Immediately, Boselli was a mainstay and an oak on the offensive line.

He moved the likes of Bruce Smith and Reggie White with ease.

Toward the end of his career, shoulder injuries put him on the sidelines, and he was eventually a selection of the expansion Houston Texans.

Reggie Brown

Sometimes, the most routine plays turn out to be the worst in NFL history.

In 1997, Brown, a linebacker for the Lions, tried to tackle Jets fullback Adrian Murrell, and would suffer a spinal cord contusion while assisting on the play. He would lay motionless for 17 minutes on the turf at the Pontiac Silverdome, briefly losing consciousness.

Emergency professionals had to administer CPR, and emergency surgery saved the former player from a lifetime in a wheel chair.

Dennis Byrd

He took the injury he had and now inspires others to do their best.

Byrd looked like he was the real deal. In his first two seasons, he recorded 27 sacks and 110 tackles.

Byrd suffered a neck injury during a game against the Chiefs, where he rushed Seattle's quarterback Dave Krieg and collided with teammate Scott Mersereau.

The collision broke his C-5 vertebra which, at the time, left him unable to walk. In time, though, Byrd could walk, but playing another down in the NFL was out of the question.

Byrd has spent most of the last several years traveling across the country and sharing his life story, and giving inspirational speeches.

Terrell Davis

Davis and someone like a Gayle Sayers will always be connected. Not because they were the same kind of runner, but because they were dynamic for the short amount of time they played in the NFL.

And when people ask if Davis should be included in Hall of Fame chat, they look to Sayers to make the argument.

Davis was as good as anyone in the seven seasons he was in the NFL. He had a 2,000-yard rushing season and was part of the Broncos' two Super Bowl wins.

Leg and knee injuries forced him to retire.

Kris Dielman

This case is sad since it just happened a few weeks ago.

Dielman had to retire from the game because of a seizure that was caused from a concussion he sustained while his San Diego Chargers were playing the New York Jets.

Dielman began his career in 2003 and was a four-time Pro Bowler. He retired from the game at the age of 31.

Robert Edwards

Who thought playing flag football would cost you and NFL career? Nobody, and certainly not Robert Edwards.

The former University of Georgia standout was doing what people do in the offseason, enjoying the time off in the sun and sand—and he paid the price for it. But injuries were never anything new to Edwards, who did not play an entire college football season due to injury.

He rushed for 1,115 yards for the Patriots in the 1998 season after being the New England Patriots' first-round draft pick. He blew his knee out playing flag football in Hawaii, and Edwards almost had to have the leg amputated because of the severity of the injury.

Kevin Everette

In 2007, Kevin Everette went from rising tight end in the NFL to athlete who was paralyzed with a spinal cord injury after a brutal hit.

Although he is no longer paralyzed, Everette can no longer play football in the NFL. He said he credits his recovery (now that he can walk) to his faith and determination.

Part of the reason Everette is able to walk today deals with a healing process of cooling the body at the point of the injury.

Bo Jackson

He had the power of Atlas and could run like a gazelle.

Bo Jackson, to this day, is the best athlete I have ever seen play, and he did it in two sports: baseball and football.

As an outfielder and designated hitter with Kansas City, Chicago White Sox and California, he had raw power and unbelievable speed and made the unthinkable real.

A hip injury he sustained caused him to stop playing sports all together. He was also one of the most marketable players in sports when he was playing.

Gayle Sayers

Is there ever any doubt that if he had played more and had avoided injury, he would have been the greatest running back of all time?

I did not have the chance to see him play when he was in his prime. But I can say from watching tape and film, Sayers is one of the best runners I have ever seen.

His style and grace was remarkable, and it was amazing watching him sprint through a defensive line.

Sayers was in a class by himself, and for the small amount of time he was in the league, he was a true gem.

Knee injuries did his career in.