The latest injury updates from around the league:
- Drew Brees has missed five games now, and it looks like the Saints quarterback is nearing a return. Brees said he will return to practice this week and that he hopes to play in Week 8 against the Cardinals, according to Mike Triplett of ESPN.com (Twitter link). That being said Brees told Triplett he’s still taking a “we’ll see” approach, so it’s far from guaranteed he suits up against Arizona. Still, he’s clearly going to be back soon. Teddy Bridgewater has gone 5-0 in his absence, so Brees’ thumb injury might end up turning out to be a blessing in disguise if it leaves him more fresh down the stretch. New Orleans picked up a big win on the road against Chicago Sunday, and their defense is playing lights out.
- Speaking of NFC South quarterbacks, Matt Ryan left the Falcons’ loss to the Rams early with an ankle injury. Ryan was in a lot of pain and in a boot after the game, but a source said “the team does not believe the injury is serious,” per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Atlanta’s season is circling the drain as they sit at 1-6 and Dan Quinn could be fired any week, so it’s quite possible they’re cautious with Ryan. It wouldn’t be a surprise at all if Matt Schaub is under center next week against Seattle.
- Cornerback Eli Apple left the Saints’ win over the Bears with a non-contact knee injury, which understandably sparked a lot of concern. The “initial belief” is that Apple hyperextended his knee, according to Nick Underhill of The Athletic (Twitter link). It’s unclear how serious the injury is and he could certainly still miss some time, but fortunately it doesn’t sound like an ACL tear. Apple has started every game for New Orleans this season, and is a key part of their defense. This one will be important to monitor.
- Star cornerback Darius Slay and running back Kerryon Johnson both left and were ruled out of the Lions’ loss to the Vikings. There hasn’t been much of an update on either, but Slay’s was a hamstring and Johnson’s was a knee. Slay missed one game with a hamstring injury earlier this year, so it sounds like he aggravated that. Johnson missed six games with a knee injury last season, so this is obviously troubling. We’ll keep you posted as soon as we hear more.
If I’m Atlanta I’m putting Ryan on IR and tank the rest of the season, trade Hooper, Sanu and try to trade Beasley for picks. Worst case you end up with a top 5 pick, best case you somehow get the 1st pick and trade it for a massive package.
that might not be a bad idea
That would be a smart move do they probably won’t do that
Exactly. Ryan was nursing some injuries last year down the stretch and instead of doing the exact same thing they won their last four games and dropped from 3rd to 14th in the draft. This franchise is too stupid to do the little things to make themselves better long term. Granted, it’s might not be honorable, but it’s what almost every other team does.
I won’t blame them for holding on to Sanu and Jones last year, but it was obvious to almost everyone else they needed to break this thing down(yes, they had some injuries on D, but the signs were there). Now they are a cap stricken team with no real future and a bunch of crazy pricey aging vets. What’s worse is they cannot decide if they want to be an offense first team or a defense first team. So sad.