It was a brutal week in the NFL for big names and teams with big plans. The injury bug bit early and often, and a number of seasons, and possibly careers, will be affected.
Deshaun Watson – Cleveland Browns Quarterback
The Cleveland Browns weren’t going anywhere this season before Deshaun Watson went down with a season-ending torn Achilles, and they certainly aren’t going anywhere now. They are -20000 to miss the playoffs, and even the return of running back Nick Chubb can’t save them.
But this injury is more about next season and what the Browns can do with his contract, which continues to be an albatross around their necks.
The Browns aren’t saying anything publicly, but most big money contracts come with insurance policies, and most of those policies cover ruptured Achilles tendons. So Cleveland might be able to get some salary cap relief that they can roll over into the 2025 season. And for Watson, this injury might also linger into the 2025 season, further complicating the Browns efforts to win football games.
Chris Godwin – Tampa Bay Buccaneers Wide Receiver
The hamstring injury to Mike Evans was a heavy price to pay for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Monday night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens. But by the end of the game, the Evans injury was the least of their concerns, after watching Chris Godwin go down with a dislocated ankle.
Evans might be lost for several weeks, and Godwin is having surgery this week that is likely to keep him sidelined for all of the remaining weeks of this season. Plus, Godwin is a free agent after this season, so it’s possible his injury with just 43 seconds left in the game has ended his Buccaneers career.
It will feel strange watching Tampa Bay next week without either of their two star wide receivers, and it might be enough to knock them from the playoffs. Following the two injuries, their odds of missing the playoffs moved to -125.
Brandon Aiyuk – San Francisco 49ers Wide Receiver
The San Francisco 49ers lost Deebo Samuel on Sunday to pneumonia, and he was in the hospital on Monday being treated for the illness. It’s serious, but he will recover and return to the 49ers lineup at some point in the next couple of weeks.
The outlook for Brandon Aiyuk is not nearly as rosy. He tore his ACL and MCL in the loss to Kansas City, and his season is done. Already without Christian McCaffrey, and having missed rookie Ricky Pearsall the first six games of the season because of a gunshot wound, the 3-4 49ers have to wonder if any good luck will come their way.
The one bit of good news for San Francisco is that they get to play the Dallas Cowboys next Sunday at home, and the 49ers are 4.5-point favorites.
DK Metcalf – Seattle Seahawks Wide Receiver
Also joining the growing list of injured wide receivers was Seattle Seahawks star DK Metcalf, who went down in Seattle’s win over the Atlanta Falcons with a sprained MCL.
He is officially listed as week-to-week, and sports medicine specialists say the most likely timeline is a return to the field after Seattle’s bye week, when they play at the 49ers in Week 11. Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald is breathing a sigh of relief that the injury wasn’t worse.
Jayden Daniels – Washington Commanders Quarterbacks
Also in the breathing easier category are the Washington Commanders, who watched their all-world rookie, Jayden Daniels, go down with a rib injury.
X-rays came back clean, but Daniels might miss this coming Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears. We all would like to see him go head-to-head against Caleb Williams, the only player picked in this year’s draft ahead of Daniels.
But Washington head coach Dan Quinn was clear that he is going to be cautious with his star quarterback, and there will be no rush to get him back on the field. Daniels is the current favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year at -145, and Williams is right behind him at +115.
Aidan O’Connell – Las Vegas Raiders Quarterback
Just two weeks after he was named the starter, Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell is back on the sideline. This time, it’s because of a broken thumb that will keep him out for four to six weeks. He has been placed on injured reserve, so four weeks is the minimum time he will miss.
The Raiders now go back to Gardner Minshew as their starting quarterback, and they have signed Desmond Ridder off the practice squad of the Arizona Cardinals.
The 2-5 Raiders loss on Sunday, coupled with the loss of O’Connell, has dropped their odds to miss the playoffs to -10000. Head coach Antonio Pierce is now paying +300 to be the next coach fired.
With over 25 years of experience as a distinguished sports writer for renowned platforms such as Fox Sports and ESPN, Kyle Garlett is a sports betting specialist who has been at the forefront of documenting the global surge in sports betting and online gaming. Based in Denver, Colorado, Kyle hosts an NFL betting YouTube show and podcast. Kyle also has two sports books published by HarperCollins.
Kyle graduated the Azusa Pacific University in 1996 with a B.A. Degree in Communication and Journalism.