Week 3 Injury Round-Up

    Written by: Tyler Zajac •

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    Injury Round Up

    Sam LaPorta

    Justin Herbert - High Ankle Sprain (Re-injury)

    All eyes are on the Chargers QB after re-tweaking his high ankle sprain this week. Herbert is known for his toughness and playing through injuries in the past, the trouble is that over time that catches up with you as it did this week. The team announced that he is day-to-day, but trend data would suggest otherwise. Sure, every player is different but after re-injuring the ankle it would be smart for the Chargers to rest Herbert. I would not expect to see him with pads week 4 though we will have to see how his injury trends over the week. If this tweak is more severe than they are confessing to, it could be 1-3 weeks before we see the QB on the field again. To me it would make sense to rest him this early in the season and make sure he can make it through the season.
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    Joe Alt - MCL Sprain

    Alt suffered a medial collateral ligament (MCL) sprain. This is the ligament that gives stability to the inside of your knee. A stretch/partial tear of this ligament can not only be painful but cause residual swelling and the inability to do functions of the job that offensive tackles must do. On average offensive tackles who suffer this injury can miss 4-5 games and though severity is unknown at this point and the team has not announced IR for him, it would not surprise me if they do decide to go down that route once they finish their full evaluation of Alt and his injury.

    Sam LaPorta - Ankle Sprain

    Sam LaPorta suffered an ankle injury this weekend that has been described as a low ankle sprain. Laporta attempted to return in the 2nd half but ended up limping off the field after an attempted block in the 1st drive of the third quarter. A low ankle sprain is far from the end of the world and is good news considering everything. The team will monitor LaPorta this week to see if he can play this week which is still a possibility however, on average tight ends miss 1-2 games with ankle sprains according to the data. The positive news though is that receiving yards tend not to drop off upon return. The blocking and mobility can be an issue as it is with most lower extremity injuries and that will be something lions staff assess before returning LaPorta to the field.

    Adam Thielen - Hamstring

    Bad news for the Carolina Panthers as WR Adam Thielen suffered a hamstring injury this week on a touchdown catch. The injury will land him on IR the team announced due to its severity and the time needed to heal. Multiple WR’s have been dealing with Hamstring injuries this season including Eagles A.J. Brown, Bengals Tee Higgins and Cardinals Greg Dortch amongst them. All have been dealt with differently with Theilen finding his way to IR. A tough blow for the Panthers who finally found some life this past week with Andy Dalton under center. We won’t see Thielen back until week 8 at the earliest and even then, expect a performance drop off upon return for his first few games back.

    George Kittle - Hamstring

    Kittle was out this week after experiencing tightness in his hamstring in practice leading up to the 49er’s week 3 matchup. Every time I hear the word hamstring whether it is associated with tightness, a strain, or a tear it worries me in skill positions. Hamstring injuries as I’ve said before have a nasty way of turning into continued problems either through long absences, re-injury, or worsening. Hopefully Kittle can avoid this, and the team is hoping to have him back in practice this week. Even if he returns, I feel that there is a high chance we won’t see him back until week 5 for competition and if he does return for this week against the Patriots, expect him to be down 5-10% in overall production.

    DeVonta Smith - Concussion

    DeVonta took a big hit this weekend which left him lying on the field as his teammates looked on worried for his safety. He was eventually able to walk off under his own power which is a good sign but ultimately ruled out for the remainder of the game due to a concussion. Smith is now in the concussion protocol and depending on how he progresses through that will determine his availability for this week’s game against the Buccaneers. At this point his safety is of course the team’s number one concern and we will watch his status as the week progresses. I don’t expect any decrease in production however once he his back on the field.

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