Tag: Back

How did Packers CB Jaire Alexander hurt his back, and will he play vs. Vikings?

Packers CB Jaire Alexander hurt his back during a September practice, but he’s hoping to play Sunday against the Vikings.

Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander has missed three of the last four games and is now questionable to play Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings after suffering a mysterious back injury that has lingered for over a month.

While coach Matt LaFleur provided no extra details regarding the injury on Friday, Alexander was willing to shed some light on how the injury happened during a late September practice.

Per Paul Bretl of Packers Wire, Alexander and third-string quarterback Alex McGough — who is on the practice squad but doubles as a tight end on the scout team — collided mid-air during a practice snap in the lead-up to the Packers’ Week 3 showdown with the New Orleans Saints.

“We collided in midair, honestly,” Alexander said. “I don’t know how the third string QB and the starting corner collide, but hey, no one did nothing wrong, I should say. It’s his fault though.”

Alexander missed back-to-back games against the Saints and Detroit Lions, fought through pain to return and face former Packers receiver Davante Adams in Week 5 and then dealt with a flare up coming out of the bye last week and missed a third game in five weeks against the Denver Broncos.

“What I got going on is not like a regular type of thing. But I’m also not going to speak about it with y’all. It’s just something I’ve got to manage,” Alexander said.

LaFleur said Alexander will be a game-time decision Sunday. Alexander said the plan is to play but it will depend on how he feels come Sunday morning.

“Yeah, pretty much. Get moving around and see how everything feels,” Alexander said. “But that’s the plan.”

The Vikings will be without All-Pro Justin Jefferson on Sunday, but first-round pick Jordan Addison has a touchdown in five of his first seven NFL games and is coming off a seven-catch, 123-yard performance against the San Francisco 49ers last week.

Latest updates on Chiefs TE Travis Kelce’s back injury

A pair of reports reveal new information about #Chiefs TE Travis Kelce’s back injury and his status heading into Sunday’s AFC Championship Game.

Some new information on Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce’s injury and status heading into the AFC Championship Game has been revealed. Earlier reports indicated that Kelce was expected to play and while that still may be the case, maybe it’s not quite as cut-and-dry as previously believed.

Ahead of the NFC Championship Game between the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers, FOX Sports reporter Jay Glazer updated fans on Kelce. Glazer says that Kelce’s back locked up on him during the last play of practice on Friday. He received anti-inflammatory treatments on Friday and Saturday according to Glazer, who says that the Chiefs, “still don’t know if (Travis Kelce) can go” and have deemed him a game-time decision.

What do they need to see in order to feel comfortable with Kelce playing? Glazer says they need to see him run during pregame warm-ups.

NFL Network’s James Palmer added some additional context, explaining that Kelce had improved on Saturday. He also confirmed that the team wants to see him go through pregame workouts, but there remains optimism that he’ll play.

Kelce has officially arrived at the stadium ahead of the game and looks no worse for wear.

For now, all we can do is wait until the players take the field to warm up, which is coming up at 4:30 p.m. CT. Rest assured that Rick Burkholder will be keeping a watchful eye on both Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce at that time.

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Chiefs HC Andy Reid provides update on RT Mitchell Schwartz

Schwartz has been on injured reserve since Week 11.

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Kansas City Chiefs starting RT Mitchell Schwartz has been on injured reserve since Week 11 and dealing with a back injury since Week 7. After a Week 15 game that saw QB Patrick Mahomes battered for three sacks and 11 hits or knockdowns, fans want to know if Schwartz is any closer to making his return.

When Chiefs HC Andy Reid spoke to the media on Monday, he’d have you believe that Schwartz is doing better.

“Yeah, he’s actually feeling a little bit better,” Reid said.  “Not all the way back, but he is feeling a little bit better and we’ll just see I mean, we will take it day by day. He’s a great communicator so we know he wants to play but just want to make sure you know that he’s ok and I kind of leave that up to the docs and Rick (Burkholder) on that and then obviously Mitch.”

What Reid doesn’t know is if Schwartz will be healthy enough to return from injured reserve and play come the postseason.

“I don’t know that,” Reid said. “We’re just kind of taking it day by day, week by week literally, and so we’re just seeing how he does here. Hopefully, it calms down by then or whenever and he can get himself back out there. I mean, that’s what we’d like, but we’ll see how that all goes.”

Right now, it sounds like the team is remaining optimistic that Schwartz could eventually return from this mysterious back injury that has caused problems for the better part of the season. However, Reid doesn’t seem to have an expectation that Schwartz will return at any point during the regular season or the postseason.

At this point, it’d probably be safe for fans to expect that they won’t be seeing Schwartz until next season, if at all. Remember, the salary cap reduction in 2021 could make Schwartz a cap casualty. The absolute worst-case scenario would be that we’ve seen Schwartz play his last snap in a Chiefs uniform.

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Chiefs RT Mike Remmers questionable to return vs. Dolphins

Remmers has suffered a back injury according to the Chiefs.

The Kansas City Chiefs are currently without starting RT Mike Remmers, who has been sidelined by an injury.

The Chiefs have announced that Remmers is questionable to return to the game with a back injury. Remmers, who is already filling in for starting RT Mitchell Schwartz, has started eight straight games for Kansas City. He was ruled questionable during the Panthers game earlier in the year with a rib injury, but this doesn’t appear to be related.

In his place, undrafted rookie Yasir Durant has been filling in at the RT position. He looked good during his first snaps of the day, especially in the run game. He held his own in pass protection for the most part on that first series even though it ended in a Patrick Mahomes interception.

The team is shorthanded on the offensive line now, if they’re to suffer any other injuries at the tackle position they’ll likely need to do some shuffling of the line. They have interior guys available in Daniel Kilgore and Stefen Wisniewski, but they’d likely need to move Andrew Wylie to tackle in a pinch.

Hopefully, this is a minor injury and Remmers is able to return next week, it’s unclear if or when Schwartz would be able to return from injured reserve.

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Report: Tyron Smith expected to be out for Cowboys vs Redskins

The star left tackle is in danger of missing a third game of the season for the fourth-straight year.

The Dallas Cowboys may have to make a run at the NFC East title without their star left tackle. Tyron Smith has missed practice this week with a bad back flare-up that has been underlying for much of the last several seasons.

Listed as questionable on the final Week 17 injury report before the club takes on the Washington Redskins, Smith will try to give it a go in pre-game warmups on Sunday, but the NFL Network’s Jane Slater is reporting he is not likely to make it into the afternoon’s game.

Dallas (7-8) has just a 28% chance of making the playoffs, needing both a win and a Philadelphia Eagles’ loss to the New York Giants. Both games kick off at 3:25 p.m. Central time.

Smith, 29 and a nine-year veteran, missed Weeks 5 and 6 already making Week 17 the third game he’s missed in the 2019 season. He has only been on the field for 13 games each of the previous three seasons.

Cameron Fleming would start in Smith’s place, and the club has UDFA rookie backups Mitch Hyatt and Brandon Knight on the 53-man roster. One would likely be made active if Smith were made inactive as the new swing tackle. Hyatt was promoted from the practice squad last week to prevent another NFL club from poaching him, so the duty would likely fall on Knight to be active.

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Cowboys LB Leighton Vander Esch to miss Patriots game, multiple weeks

The middle linebacker has an injury that will likely keep him out of Sunday’s action.

The Dallas Cowboys might have received their first bit of bad injury news this week. After what appears like a miraculous recovery for left guard Connor Williams, and a relatively-speaking clean bill of health for wideout Amari Cooper and safety Jeff Heath, the defense might be losing their man in the middle.

Middle linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, who has struggled with injuries over the last few weeks, will be out of the Week 12 contest against the New England Patriots with a back issue, and possibly longer after getting an MRI done Thursday.

Vander Esch has already missed one game this season, Week 9 following the Cowboys’ bye week. That came after exiting Week 7’s tilt against the Philadelphia Eagles playing just 22 snaps.

Vander Esch briefly left the Week 10 tilt against the Vikings, but still played 74 of 76 defensive snaps. He played 63 of 65 snaps in the win over the Detroit Lions this past Sunday, but the injury flared up Thursday.

He wasn’t even listed on Thursday’s injury report.

If Vander Esch misses the game, it will have a cascading impact on the Dallas linebacker rotation. Jaylon Smith would slide into the middle to replace him, and Sean Lee would take over as the primary Will backer.

Joe Thomas would come off the bench to play Sam, but he’s missed both practices this week with an illness and his status is unknown. Lee and Smith would be the nickel backers with Thomas spelling both at each position. Without Vander Esch and Thomas, that would likely lead to Justin March or Luke Gifford getting some snaps.

This isn’t the most ideal situation, as Vander Esch’s cover ability against crossing receivers and halfbacks is his strong suit, and perhaps Lee’s weakest during this point of his career.

The Patriots’ offense has struggled this year, but a loss like Vander Esch is at some levels a bit of a neutralizer.

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Matthew Stafford does not want to be shut down for the season

The Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has made it clear, he does not want to be shut down for the season despite his fractured back.

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The Detroit Lions currently sit with a record of 3-6-1, and their season is seeming to come to a bitter end, with playoff hopes basically non-existent even if they win out.

The question on many fans’ minds is: When will Matthew Stafford be back?

The league knows how tough Stafford is; 136 consecutive starts under center, playing with injuries, broken fingers, you name it. Ultimately, fractured bones in his back from a hit late in the Week 9 game against the Oakland Raiders forced the quarterback onto the injury report. Stafford is having one of the most productive seasons in his career and was on pace for 4,998 yards, 38 touchdowns to go along with only 10 interceptions before the injury.

Wednesday (video below), Stafford was asked about whether he’d come back this season.

“I am doing everything I can, to get out there as fast as possible,” he told reporters. “I understand your question, but this is what I love to do. I love playing football. I appreciate all the hard work that all the guys in this locker room and in this organization put into going out there and trying to win games on Sunday and I love being a part of that.”

Stafford further explained that it doesn’t matter whether it’s Week 14-17, that he wants to be out there on the field.

“It’s tough for me to sit there without the pads on and not be able to impact the game on the field the way I’m used to doing,” Stafford continued. “That’s driving me to get back out there, and whenever we all deem it’s the right time for me to get back out there, I’ll be out there.”

It’s a difficult dilemma to have for the Lions right now. Play Stafford when he’s healthy, or shut him down for the remainder of the season and protect your franchise quarterback? We will find out their decision soon enough.

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You can watch the entire Stafford interview from Wednesday below:

The Detroit Lions should sit Matthew Stafford for his own good

The Detroit Lions should shutdown quarterback Matthew Stafford for the season, for his own good — and the teams.

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You could forgive Matthew Stafford for not knowing quite what to do with himself. After all, for the past 136 games, each and every time the Detroit Lions took the field on Sunday (or Monday, or Thursday, or even the occasional Saturday), he was there, commanding the huddle, trying to lead his team to victory.

So it had to be a bit weird when Stafford returned from the opening coin toss and put on not a helmet, but an earpiece. Standing awkwardly on the sideline, you could sense a discomfort that had nothing to do with the fractured bones in his back that sidelined him for the first time in nearly nine years.

Unfortunately for Stafford, he needs to get used to that uncomfortable feeling for a while. Because, if the Lions are smart, Stafford will not see the field again in 2019.

For the second consecutive season, Stafford has broken small bones in his back. And even if the injury is not quite the same one that he played through last season – and even though NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Stafford could be back on the field as soon as next week – the Lions need to think long and hard before they put him under center again.

There is no question that the goal of coach Matt Patricia has to be to win every game. Not just for his future, but because — the Miami Dolphins tank-a-thon aside — winning is always better than losing.

But there’s a bigger picture to think about. Something more important than beating Dallas next Sunday or Washington the one after that.

Stafford is the unquestioned most important player on the Lions. He’s the most important athlete in Detroit. Period. And he’s going to stay that way for a long time.

Before Stafford’s injury, he was on pace for the best and most efficient season of his career. If the Lions hope to compete for a Super Bowl in the next decade, riding Stafford’s arm is the only way it’s going to happen.

Which is why the Lions can’t sacrifice the future for one or two more wins in a season that is going nowhere. After the Lions’ 20-13 loss to Chicago, they sit at a woeful 3-5-1. To make the playoffs, they would have to win their remaining seven games, and honestly, even that would likely not be enough in a stacked NFC.

The Lions have a duty to the future of the franchise (both in the literal and figurative sense of the word) to look past this Sunday and to 2020 and beyond.

Backs are tricky — just ask Tony Romo, who is leading CBS’s broadcast team instead of the Dallas Cowboys right now because of a series of back injuries. And even if doctors say that it’s just a pain management issue, or that Stafford can’t make things worse by playing, the Lions need to be as cautious as possible.

Had this been Stafford’s first back injury, and if the Lions still had a heartbeat’s chance of making the playoffs, then, sure, maybe you consider throwing him back out there. But this is Stafford’s second back injury this season, and the second straight year he’s literally broken his back trying to carry this team to respectability.

For as disappointing as the 2019 season has been, and as hard as it is to see right now, the Lions are not that far away from being an honest-to-gosh competitor in the NFC. The team will have a decent amount of cap space again, what looks to be another potential top-10 draft pick, and with a few tweaks to the coaching staff (looking at you Paul Pasqualoni), it isn’t hard to see how the bounces could go the Lions’ way in 2020.

But none of that will happen if Stafford isn’t completely healthy and if the team has to hold its breath every time he takes a hard hit because they never let his back completely heal.

That’s why the Lions should shut Stafford down for his own good — and the team’s.

And who knows, maybe after a couple of weeks, Stafford won’t look so awkward on the sideline anymore.