Josh Boyd

Injury Updates: 9/20/15

The big news is the Tony Romo injury, which could have a devastating effect on the Cowboys’ season. We already looked at a major injury to Bills safety Aaron Williams – who appeared to be doing okay after being taken to a hospital, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (via Twitter) – and a potential starting quarterback injury for Jay Cutler of the Bears. Here’s a roundup of other noteworthy injuries from Sunday’s action. Any additional injury updates from the afternoon games will be added to the top of the page throughout the day.

Earlier:

  • Ereck Flowers left the Giants-Falcons game with an ankle injury, and was not able to return, writes Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). Flowers has dealt with ankle injuries for a few weeks, and Jordan Raanan of NJ.com notes that head coach Tom Coughlin hopes those issues aren’t continuous (via Twitter).
  • Eagles linebacker Kiko Alonso has been ruled out of the remainder of today’s game vs. the Cowboys due to a left knee injury, tweets Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. As McLane observes, that’s the same knee that suffered a torn ACL in 2014.
  • Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford was getting X-rays taken after the loss to the Vikings, reports Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter). Detroit Lions senior writer Tim Twentyman writes that Stafford confirmed the X-rays were taken of his chest and ribs (via Twitter).
  • Buccaneers defensive tackle Gerald McCoy left the 26-19 win over the Saints with a right arm injury, reports Jenna Laine of Sports Talk 1040 The Team in Tampa (via Twitter). Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times adds that McCoy was not moving his right arm in the locker room (via Twitter).
  • Titans right guard Chance Warmack will have an MRI on his knee on Monday after injuring it today, but the initial diagnosis is a sprained MCL, according to Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com (Twitter links).

Dunne On Replacements For B.J. Raji

An unfortunate injury to Packers’ nose tackle B.J. Raji has left the team looking for a way to replace his size and athleticism in the middle of their defense. The arm injury has been confirmed to be torn biceps, and will more than likely force him to miss the season, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN (via Twitter).

As big of a loss as this is for the defense, the team is not yet panicking, according to Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via Twitter). The team has a number of in-house replacements, including Josh Boyd, Letroy Guion and undrafted rookie Mike Pennel, according to Dunne.

Guion was one of the favorite free agent signings this offseason, but has missed virtually all of training camp with a variety of hamstring problems. He was thought of as a possible PUP candidate, but Dunne notes that the team might not feel comfortable waiting that long to see him in action now without Raji (via Twitter).

Dunne also notes that former Packer Ryan Pickett is an option (via Twitter). Pickett, who played nose tackle and defensive end for the team since 2006, is a free agent who has expressed interest in continuing his career with the Packers, as Dunne wrote earlier this offseason.

However, Dunne also mentioned that the team would most likely stand pat with what they have, knowing they have the option to play more nickel packages, which would put Mike Daniels and Datone Jones on the field, and alleviate the need for a true nose tackle (via Twitter).

Johnny Jolly, another former Packer defensive lineman, is also not currently in the team’s plan as a replacement for Raji, (via Twitter).