We don’t pass along news on every injury here at Pro Football Rumors, but we’ll keep tabs on those injuries that may be serious enough to warrant a player heading to IR, or his team making a roster move in order to make up for his absence. Already today, we’ve learned that the Colts believe Ahmad Bradshaw broke his ankle during last night’s game against the Patriots. Here are a few more updates from around the league:
- Browns head coach Mike Pettine told reporters today that linebacker Jabaal Sheard may be out for the season with a foot injury (Twitter links via Jeff Schudel and Nate Ulrich). As for Karlos Dansby, whose MCL injury is noted below, he could be sidelined for a month or so.
- Dolphins linebacker Jonathan Freeny is expected to miss about four weeks with a hamstring injury, sources tell James Walker of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
- A successful contract year has come to an abrupt and disappointing end for Falcons running back Antone Smith, according to head coach Mike Smith, who told reporters today that Smith broke his leg and will be placed on IR (Twitter link via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com).
Earlier updates:
- As first reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), Falcons cornerback Robert Alford broke his wrist during yesterday’s win over the Panthers. Smith confirmed that Alford will miss two to four weeks with the injury, tweets McClure.
- Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians announced today that tight end Troy Niklas has a high ankle sprain and is unlikely to play this week. The team intends to monitor Niklas and is hopeful that the injury won’t end his season (Twitter links via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com).
- As first reported by CST’s Victor Howell (Twitter link), Saints wide receiver and return man Brandin Cooks broke his thumb yesterday against the Bengals. Agent Jeff Sperbeck (Twitter link) has confirmed that his client had surgery on his thumb and should return in about four to six weeks.. With Robert Meachem also dealing with an ankle issue, New Orleans may consider adding another wideout to the roster at some point this week.
- The Saints also saw safety Rafael Bush leave yesterday’s game with a leg injury, and Ramon Antonio Vargas of the Advocate reports that Bush has a broken fibula rather than a more serious fractured tibia. Still, a fractured fibula generally requires a few weeks to heal, so we’ll see if New Orleans decides to put Bush on injured reserve — if they do, he’d be the fourth Saints safety to land on IR this year. Ty Zimmerman, Vinnie Sunseri, and notable offseason signee Jairus Byrd are already on IR.
- The Browns believe starting linebacker Karlos Dansby suffered a sprained MCL against the Texans yesterday, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Dansby is undergoing more tests today to confirm the diagnosis and to determine a timetable for his recovery.