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The NFL preseason is meant to be a time for teammates to get acclimatized to each other and learn new plays in time for the regular season kick-off in September.
While coaches would like the players to take it easy and avoid injury, many are fighting for roster spots, so they give it all they’ve got. This, unfortunately, can and has led to some pretty nasty injuries, both on the field during preseason games and in training camp.
Here are five NFL stars who have suffered preseason injuries.
#1 – Teddy Bridgewater
After being drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2014 NFL Draft, hopes were high for quarterback Teddy Bridgewater after he started all 16 games in 2015. Bridgewater led the Vikings to an 11-5 record, passing for 3,250 yards and 14 touchdowns.
However, during a team practice in August 2016, days before the season began, Bridgewater suffered a devastating injury to his left leg. He tore his ACL and dislocated his knee joint. Media speculation claimed he could miss almost two years of action. Bridgewater missed the entire 2016 season, only making a single appearance in 2017.
Since the injury, Teddy B has bounced around the league, spending time with the New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, and now the Miami Dolphins.
#2 – Zach Wilson
New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson had high expectations going into his second year in the NFL. He would have been one year more experienced and would have spent another year with head coach Robert Saleh.
However, during a recent preseason fixture against the Philadelphia Eagles, Wilson suffered a bone bruise and meniscus tear in his right knee. He’s due to miss around 2-4 weeks of action and will be hoping to be ready for the Jets’ season opener against the Baltimore Ravens on September 11th.
Saleh said of the injury:
“The timing of it all is terrible and it sucks. I think Zach can still have an opportunity to grow from it if he attacks it mentally.”
#3 – Mark Sanchez
Speaking of New York Jets quarterbacks, Mark Sanchez suffered an infamous injury during the 2013 preseason. Head coach Rex Ryan decided to play Sanchez late in the fourth quarter of the team's final preseason game against the New York Giants, when Sanchez took a heavy hit and landed awkwardly on his shoulder.
The issue was that despite Sanchez being a starter, his offensive line was filled with third and fourth-stringers, so a big hit was almost inevitable.
He missed the entire 2013 season and was released at the end of the year.
#4 – Michael Vick
Michael Vick was one of the most electrifying quarterbacks in football during the 2000s, but he fell foul of a preseason injury against the Baltimore Ravens in 2003.
On a third-and-six, Vick was chased out of the pocket before falling awkwardly on his right leg. He broke his fibula and missed the first 11 games of the regular season, making his season debut in Week 13.
#5 – Cam Akers
Los Angeles Rams running back Cam Akers suffered a devastating injury in preseason a year ago. He tore his Achilles tendon while working out shortly before the start of training camp and was expected to miss the entire 2021 season.
Remarkably, Akers returned in Week 18, just five months after sustaining his injury. To make matters even better, he helped the Rams win Super Bowl LVI against the Cincinnati Bengals and even managed to play in the big game.
