NFL: The Quarterback Injury Bug

The league is trying to do everything in their power to protect the most “valuable" position in football;

And so are teams, employing strategies like benching starting Quarterbacks in pre-season, training camp, days off, etc.

Yet, nothing seems to work.

If we take a look at the past 2 years, the amount of Quarterbacks that have suffered an injury and missed a game is astonishing:

• 2018: Cam Newton, Aaron Rodgers, Alex Smith, Marcus Mariota, Joe Flacco, Jimmy Garoppolo, Andy Dalton, Colt McCoy
• 2017: Andrew Luck, Aaron Rodgers, Ryan Tannehill, Sam Bradford, Carson Palmer, Deshaun Watson, Jaime Winston, Marcus Mariota, Derek Carr and Jay Cutler

Current Situation

This year is not different, we are barely reaching week 3 and already several Quarterbacks went down with an injury:

• Ben Roethlisberger
• Drew Brees
• Cam Newton
• Nick Foles
• Sam Darn-old

*You can also add backup Quarterbacks Drew Lock and Trevor Siemen to the list.

No wonder Andrew Luck decided to retire!

There has got to be a logical explanation for this, doesn"t it?

Deep Dive

If we take a deeper dive into the season, if we take 20 random defensive players for week 1 and week 2, we can get a combined 70 + quarterback hits. The top 20 defensive players in that category last year combined for an estimate of 500 Quarterback Hits.

In other words, it"s been 2 weeks, and we have more than 10% of Quarterback hits compared to last year. That is an incredible number.

Moreover, it seems Quarterbacks are dropping back to pass more than ever, we have over 8 Quarterbacks with over 80 attempts! That"s an average of 40 per game, incredible if you ask me.

Add this numbers up to the rushing attempts by mobile Quarterbacks, like Lamar Jackson (19 attempts), Josh Allen (17 attempts) and Jacoby Brisset (10 attempts), and the risk for injury is at an all-time high.

*Not to mention that offensive lineman are also dropping like flies

Conclusion

In conclusion, if you are an NFL team, you have to be asking if dishing out guaranteed money to Quarterbacks is the right move. (Garappolo got 70+ million in guarantees).

* Especially, the Dallas Cowboys, who are currently struggling with negotiations with their start Quarterback, Dak Prescott.

Maybe we are just over-reacting and it"s just a string of back luck, but if weeks 1 and 2 are any indication of how this season is going to go, we better get used to the idea of Tim Tebow and/or Johnny Manziel coming back to the NFL to Quarterback a team.

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