Painful Day for NFL Rushers

It was a painful Sunday in the NFL for some of the leagues top running backs. Four, yes four impact players suffered injuries on the field, they include Julius Jones, Brian Westbrook, Cedric Benson and Ronnie Brown. While one of the injuries is being considered very minor, there is one that could be career threatening.

What I’ll do is run down each player, what happened and what to expect.

First off, Cedric Benson. His injury was probably the least severe out of the backs. Benson left today’s game after just seven carries with what ESPN’s Chris Mortensen is calling a hip flexor strain. If that’s truly all the injury is then Bengals fans have not much to worry about. Chris even says that Benson will be in the lineup next week.

Personally, I’d rest Benson next week just to be on the safe side. The Cincinnati Bengals have a legitimate chance at coming out of the AFC this year but only with Cedric in the lineup. They play the Oakland Raiders next week and could easily win that game without their horse. So why not give the guy a break and an extra “bye” week to get ready for the stretch run?

Next up is Miami Dolphins back Ronnie Brown. There’s actually no telling how serious his injury actually is. Apparently he rolled his ankle in the third quarter and is being diagnose with just a sprain. The troubling part is that he left the stadium with the assistance of crutches. While this could be just to help take the stress off the ankle, it could also be the sign of something more serious.

"

“We took X-rays. We’ll wait to see what happens,” Brown said. “I don’t think it’s too bad.”

"

The Dolphins are in a dogfight for the last AFC Wild Card spot and are actually a very big long shot to get it. If they have any chance at it they need Brown healthy. If he suffered what could be a high ankle sprain their chances take a major hit. Ricky Williams can pick up the slack in the running game but Browns real value comes in leading the Wildcat. Is Pat White ready to take that role?

Seattle Seahawks’ starter Julius Jones suffered a much more serious injury. Jones suffered what’s being called a broken rib but even more troubling then that is that he suffered bleeding in his lung.

Due to the bleeding Jones is being forced to stay in an Arizona hospital overnight while the team returns to Seattle. With a broken rib of this severity and potentially more then you can bet on him missing a few games. The ‘Hawks season was already on the ropes but with Jones out they’re essentially done now. Not like they really had a chance anyways, right?

Finally, Brian Westbrook. The Philadelphia Eagles star suffered what’s essentially the most severe injury of the weekend, a potentially career threatening one. B-West suffered his second concussion in just one months time. He suffered his first on October 26th against the Washington Redskins and Andy Reid played it safe, not playing the guy till the doctors said he was absolutely ready. Guess the doctors still aren’t sure when a player is truly ready to play after one, because Westbrook suffered another today in his first game action since the injury.

Because of this there is plenty of speculation that his season is over. There’s no doubt the team won’t play him again till he passes every test that one could possibly come up with but is even that enough to get him on the field?

The first concussion was so serious that he was knocked out, to me today’s injury says he may of not been fully healed from the initial one. And you know what? He may never be. Something like this has to put his career in doubt and it’s nice to see that Coach Reid is now thinking that way.

"

“We’re going to do everything the right way, and take every precautionary measure to make sure Brian’s okay,” Reid said. “In these types of situations, football is secondary. You have to look out for this kid for his future and make sure he is okay before he gets back out there.”

"

If his season is indeed over the Eagles could be in trouble. They’ve had success without him in the lineup but they’ve also had failure. LeSean McCoy looks like he could be a capable NFL back but hasn’t yet showed that he can perform like a B-West can, and actually not many in the league can.

Without B-West the Eagles turn back into a pass first team which therefore makes them more predictable. Teams can now start keying on superstar in the making DeSean Jackson. If the extra help in the secondary then the Eagles Super Bowl hopes take a severe hit.