Vicious NFL Injuries

Which NFL Team Had the Most Brutal Injuries

Before we begin, it's important to state that this is a fluid list. Injuries are occurring every day, on every play. NFL injuries are typically evaluated over an entire season. The severity of these NFL injuries varies from player to player, and from team to team.

We're going to examine the top 5 NFL teams with the most brutal injuries over the past 5 seasons:

* Seattle Seahawks – 1569 injuries, including 261 in 2014, 136 in 2015, 119 in 2016, 275 in 2017, and 707 in 2018.
* New England Patriots – 1550 injuries, including 178 in 2014, 245 in 2015, 145 in 2016, 277 in 2017, and 705 in 2018.
* Jacksonville Jaguars – 1255 injuries, including 260 in 2014, 200 in 2015, 187 in 2016, 279 in 2017, and 329 in 2018.
* New York Giants – 1253 injuries, including 233 in 2014, 227 in 2015, 180 in 2016, 382 in 2017, and 231 in 2018.
* New Orleans Saints - 1211 injuries, including 156 in 2014, 153 in 2015, 338 in 2016, 339 in 2017, and 225 in 2018.
* Washington Redskins – 1183 injuries, including 209 in 2014, 215 in 2015, 179 in 2016, 287 in 2017, and 293 in 2018.

You may be curious to learn why so many injuries to NFL players took place in 2018, compared to other years? The answer to that question remains a mystery. However, a prominent NFL columnist, Judy Battista inked an article about the injury data in 2019. In that year, 224 concussions were reported, 10+ more than in 2018.

Rule changes which banned the lowering of the helmet to initiate contact have also changed the way players perform. It'll be interesting to see how the injury trends play out moving forward.

Career-Ending NFL Injuries

* Troy Aikman – a Dallas Cowboys quarterback played for 12 NFL seasons. Unfortunately, he suffered way too many concussions and had to retire from professional football.
* Dennis Byrd – played for the New York Jets, and was paralyzed in 1992 after a head-on collision with a teammate named Scott Mersereau.
* Tony Boselli - play for the Jacksonville Jaguars in the late 1990s, before ending his career with the Houston Texans. Unfortunately, he suffered a crippling injury and never returned to the field for the Houston Texans.    
* Brian Westbrook – of Eagles and 49ers fame endured devastating knee injuries and concussions and ultimately had to retire from the NFL.
* Daunte Culpepper – Quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings suffered an injury in 2001 and again in 2005. Those injuries were enough to derail and ultimately destroy his career.
* LeCharles Bentley – this star for the New Orleans Saints and Cleveland Browns suffered a crippling injury prior to the 2006 season. Later, he contracted a staph infection and had to retire from football.
* Priest Holmes – played for the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs. He had a good couple of years upfront, but a sprained ankle and serious repeated neck injuries cut his career short.
*  Kendrell Bell – this linebacker from the Pittsburgh Steelers, and later the Kansas City Chiefs was a superstar. Unfortunately, he was injury prone, first destroying his ankle and then his knee, and then his groin. His career ended at age 29.
* Jamal Anderson – of the Atlanta Falcons fame tore his ACL and had to cut his career short. Luckily, he got the Atlanta Falcons into the Super Bowl and that's his claim to fame.
* Keith Millard – an NFL defensive player of the year winner and all-pro athlete, he tore his ACL against Tampa Bay, and then underwent knee surgery. Suffice it to say, his career was cut short too.
* Al Toon - this wide receiver for the New York Jets played in the mid 80s and early 90s. Yet a great career was cut short by repeated concussions. He retired at 29.
*  Ickey Woods – a Cincinnati Bengals running back with a glittering, albeit short-lived career. He scored a flurry of touchdowns for the Bengals, rushed like a beast, but then suffered crippling knee injuries in the late 80s and early 90s, destroying his career.

NFL Players Who Died from Their Injuries

The literature on NFL players who died from their injuries sports only a handful of pro footballers. Fortunately, these super-talented heroes are few in number, but their deaths remain tragic to this day. One such player is Charles Frederick Hughes, a former wide receiver in the NFL.

He is the only NFL player to actually die during a game. There are many NFL players who joined the military and died during their National Service, but we are focused only on those players who died as a result of their injuries unrelated to military service.

* Charles Frederick Hughes – when the Detroit Lions hosted the Chicago Bears, Hughes came on as a replacement. The pressure of the game was no good for his arteriosclerosis, and the heart disease resulted in coronary thrombosis, and a massive heart attack.
* Thomas Herrion – the San Francisco 49ers player also collapsed during a pre-season game in August 2005, and died from heart disease.
* Keion Carpenter – a former Buffalo Bills player and Atlanta Falcons player had a head injury in 2017 and ended up unconscious in a coma. He died at the age of 39.

We can all agree that the NFL is not for sissies. It's a rough and tough game with serious consequences for players who get tackled too hard, or suffer grueling injuries. It's a good thing the list is short, but safety always comes first in the NFL.