Keanu Neal, Delanie Walker, Greg Olsen…
We’re only a week in, but the annual outbreak of injuries is already threatening to define the season for many teams. Whether you’re a terrified fan or a heartbroken fantasy owner, let’s look on the bright side and remember that what doesn’t kill your favorite player, might just make them stronger. Players have shown their ability to come back from some of the most devastating injuries in the past so keep hope alive for your favorite player!
1. Steve Smith Sr.
Carolina Panthers fans drew their breath and feared the worst, when Steve Smith went down with a broken leg during the very first game of the 2004 season. As the Panthers went 7-9 that year, it seemed those fears were valid.
Most people, especially athletes, treat their healing bones as fragile, making every effort to ease them back to full exertion. Steve Smith is not most athletes. In fact, he came back for the best year of his entire career, leading the NFL in receiving yards (1,563), catching 103 passes, 12 touchdowns, and returning 27 punts for 286 yards.
2. Drew Brees
Before he was the patron Saint of New Orleans, Drew Brees was leading the Charge[rs] in San Diego. That was until 2005, when he tore his labrum and rotator cuff during a fumble dive.
Some critics thought his career would take a bench-warming turn. They couldn’t have been more wrong, as his “remarkable” recovery saw him lead the Saints to an NFC South division title and Super Bowl victory.
Now a two-time MVP, five-time Pro Bowler, 2008 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year winner and perennial league record breaker; Brees’ injury was little more than a detour to the Hall Of Fame.
3. Adrian Peterson
Adrian Peterson was already a fifth year Minnesota Vikings deity, when, on Christmas Eve 2011, a matchup against Washington, his current team, that saw him take a brutal hit, tearing both his ACL and MCL. The headline the next day, was “Vikings’ Adrian Peterson may never be the same after ACL injury”.
That is because previously, an injury of this nature was considered career-ending, with those who recover never truly elite again. That was before “Purple Jesus” defied medicine and reason. He recovered at an almost superhuman rate, leaving his doctors dumbfounded. Just nine months after being carried off the field, he returned for the 2012 season, rushing for 84 yards and two touchdowns in his first game, followed by 2,097 yards for the season, and eventually crowned the Most Valuable Player.
4. Peyton Manning
Peyton Manning was just generally being Peyton Manning in 2011, when a pre-season injury exacerbated nerve damage in his neck, stemming from a violent Washington (again, Washington?!) hit, five years previous. Following a series of surgeries, inactivity in his arms caused muscle atrophy, destroying his ability to even throw a ball.
With no expectations on him, Manning set some for himself. Entering the 2012 season, he silenced skeptics as he marched into the playoffs, and steam-rolled the 2013 season. Putting up eye-popping stats, jaw-dropping records and nabbing another MVP award along the way; he decided to finally call it a day after his Denver Broncos dominated Super Bowl 50, and he finally had a Super Bowl ring for each middle finger.
5. Rob Gronkowski
Rob Gronkowski has a comeback novel, rather than story.
After missing his junior year in college following back surgery, Gronk exploded in to the NFL, setting league records. Things were going great, until 2012, when he suffered his first broken arm. Six weeks later, he was back to scoring touchdowns, only to re-break his arm.
His hotly anticipated 2013 return was one big ‘Gronk spike’, as Gronkowski instantly re-fuelled the New England Patriots’ offense. He resumed his dominance on the field until week 14, when he tore both his ACL and MCL. His Peterson-esque recovery from this devastating injury was described as “definitely not normal” by an NFL team doctor. Doubters were silenced, when not only did Gronk return for the 2014 season, but he did so with an MVP-caliber performance.
The current number one TE in football has had four arm surgeries, three back surgeries, foot surgery, MCL/ACL reconstruction and a punctured lung. He’s also still causing sleepless nights for opposing defensive coordinators, and will be riding his infamous party bus to Canton some day.
6. Keenan Allen
It could be said that Keenan Allen got off to his NFL career on the wrong foot, thanks to a knee injury in college, which saw him fall to the 76th pick in the 2013 draft. However, his dominant rookie season proved that the San Diego Chargers had caught lightning in a third round bottle.
His 2015 season ending injury came in the form of a kidney laceration during week eight. Following a successful recovery, the 2016 season was looking to be bright for Allen …right up until the second quarter of the first game. He was carted off the field in tears, having torn his ACL. It was a painful moment in more ways than one, and many found his heartbreak difficult to watch.
Allen then returned for the 2017 season. He quickly reestablished himself as one of the best receivers in football and a cornerstone of the Chargers’ offense. He also made history as the first player to record three straight games of at least 10 receptions, 100 receiving yards and a touchdown.
…And I’m still bitter that I narrowly missed out on drafting him this year.
