NOTE: This column is a living document. I'll be updating as needed after team press conferences, imaging reports, Monday Night Football injuries, etc. Major changes to the content will be noted in red. I'll also be retweeting any key pieces of news and my own reaction and analysis, so make sure you're following @JeneBramel and checking my timeline on Twitter throughout the week.
INJURY ROUNDS
I'm not a witch. Nor was I dressed as one last night, when I tweeted my concern Cruz had torn his patellar tendon.
You are a witch. RT @JeneBramel Hard to say but suspicious for patellar tendon tear for Cruz there.
— Football Perspective (@fbgchase) October 13, 2014
I'm asked frequently about the process I use on Sunday and Monday to put this early week feature together. In the golden age of Twitter, we're getting more detailed injury information than ever -- and quickly -- from a handful of strong reporters competing to break stories. Adam Schefter, Ian Rapoport, Jay Glazer, and to a lesser extent Jason La Canfora and Tom Pelissero, among others have been a huge help in sifting through early week coach speak.
But, as we've seen with Carson Palmer and Ben Tate already this year, those early week reports may not be fully informed yet. So a big part of what I do is video review. Today's NFL broadcasts are in HD and feature multiple angles. Every game has a sideline reporter and producers are more likely to show snippets of on-field and sideline exams than ever. A few seasons ago, it was very difficult to get a clear look at how an injury occurred. Now, it's disappointing when I can't see the mechanism.
Video is no substitute for hearing the player describe what happened and where his pain is located. It's no substitute for being present and performing an exam. And frame-by-frame HD video is no substitute for seeing the imaging studies and the details they provide about the severity of an injury.
But, at its core, injuries are about physics and anatomy. And a close look at a clear video of an injury can sometimes provide strong clues about injuries.
With that in mind...
victor cruz | torn patellar tendon | out for season
When you see a non-contact injury and a player grab for his knee, a torn ACL is usually the first thought. Cruz' injury did not fit the pattern of an ACL tear. A non-contact ACL mechanism is most often a planted foot, with rotation or hyperextension around the knee joint as a player changes direction. It's obvious from the GIF that's not what happened.
Instead, you can see just a hint of a give in the knee as Cruz planted his foot and tried to drive his body upwards to reach the pass. There's no rotation and no hyperextension there. Although Cruz can't tell you through the television where he's hurt, where he grabs his knee is also a major clue. Instead of grabbing low -- below the kneecap -- he's immediately reaching for the top of the knee as he rolls.
A player with an ACL injury feels pain throughout the knee joint, but it's relatively mild. A player with a patellar tendon tear has searing, burning pain in front of the knee and feels his kneecap higher than it should be on his knee.
I didn't need a warty face, pointy hat and broom to put those two clues together. I hoped I was wrong, of course, but it wasn't to be.
Though the recovery from Achilles' tendon tears has been more successful in recent years than ever, patellar tendon tears are still difficult. It's a 6-9 month rehab. Surgical techniques and rehab are better than ever and most players will return to the field. However, some struggle to recover their former level of explosiveness and lateral agility.
Brandon Gibson tore his patellar tendon last year and returned to the field this year. A role player before his injury, it's a good sign he's played well enough to stick on a roster. Nate Allen has recovered well enough to start at safety in Philadelphia. So, there's clearly room for hope with Cruz. On the other hand, Greg Childs and Ryan Williams have yet to return to form and are cautionary comps.
We'll likely see reports on Cruz' rehab and recovery this offseason, but the first evidence of how well Cruz may recover will come during OTAs -- if the Giants are comfortable with him participating -- and early training camp.
darren sproles | knee | week-to-week
The mechanism of injury for Sproles was most consistent with a MCL sprain. However, it's impossible to rule out an ACL injury or a bony injury around the knee without more information in this case.
Michele Tafoya reported from the sideline last night that doctors had concerns about Sproles' knee after checking the stability of the ACL and MCL. Sproles is scheduled for an MRI today. I'll have more here after the results are known.
If it's a MCL sprain, the recovery timetable will be based on grade and how quickly Sproles heals. Even a low grade sprain can take 2-4 weeks to feel right for a running back. Mid grade sprains -- like that of Ryan Mathews -- can take four weeks or longer to heal.
1230 ET: Reports confirm the MCL sprain for Sproles. You'll likely hear anything from 1-4 weeks on this one. It's impossible to predict how a running back will respond to the healing of the MCL. Some will feel their knee is stable despite some looseness on exam and be comfortable cutting within 1-2 weeks. Others will take longer. Sproles has the benefit of a bye week to get treatment and rehab without worrying about returning immediately. With a little luck, Week 8 is a possibility. More likely, Sproles will miss a game or two.
stevan ridley | knee | out for season
Early reports on Ridley say the Patriots fear a torn ACL. Though Ridley's foot was planted on the hit, you can see more rotation and hyperextension from the blow to the knee than with the Cruz injury above. That's consistent with an ACL injury. Unfortunately, the mechanism also looks suspicious for potential MCL and meniscus damage.
Ridley's condition will be updated after his MRI today. But there's not much optimism for a lesser diagnosis. Expect to hear Ridley's season is officially over later today.
530 ET: Mike Reiss confirmed Ridley tore both his ACL and MCL.
Filed to ESPN: Source says RB Stevan Ridley tore his ACL and MCL.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) October 13, 2014
FOLLOW-UP APPOINTMENTS
Leading this section with a shouldn't-be-shocking development on Jimmy Graham and a detailed look at Carson Palmer's effort Sunday.
jimmy graham | shoulder sprain | week-to-week
As I wrote last Monday, it took almost a full week to get any meaningful information on Graham. And, just like last season's plantar fascia tear leading into the Saints' bye week, the delayed development isn't positive.
#Saints star TE Jimmy Graham expected to miss 2-3 weeks after the bye with a shoulder sprain, source says. Likely out vs. #Lions & #Packers
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 12, 2014
I thought Graham's injury looked like an AC sprain. If correct, and I'm not certain what else in the area would be termed a shoulder "sprain," the 2-3 week estimate implies a mid grade injury. Graham's condition may play out similarly to Jordan Cameron's sprain, with Graham needing time for the injury to heal and allow him to play with his usual catch radius.
I wouldn't write Graham off entirely for Week 7, but it looks unlikely he'll play this week and would appear to be set up for a game time decision in Week 8.
a.j. green | toe sprain | week-to-week
We will not hear anything specific from the Bengals. The only reason we have anything to go on with Green is because (a) he was angry people thought he'd take an extra week off to rest his injury before the bye and defended himself by describing his injury and (b) someone close to the situation is feeding nuggets to Bob Holtzman of ESPN.
Good news & bad news for @ajgreen_18. Told me his toe won't require surgery, but expects to miss week 7 too. Will see Doc again Friday.
— bob holtzman (@BobHoltzmanESPN) October 12, 2014
It's not encouraging to hear Green is in need of weekly visits to a specialist. The MRI has been interpreted and the results are known. Green either has pain in the area or it's improved. A specialist's exam isn't needed to determine when he may be ready to practice. The team medical staff is capable of assisting in that decision after getting guidance from the specialist. I hope I'm wrong and there may only be a small chance, but I'm not fully buying that a decision against surgery has already been definitively made.
Since Green has already aggravated the injury multiple times and will miss multiple weeks with the latest aggravation, I expect the end of his recovery to progress very deliberately. I don't think we'll see Green return until he's had two weeks of practice time without a setback. Unless Green is practicing fully next week, it may be Week 9 before we see him back on the active roster.
calvin johnson | high ankle sprain | week-to-week
Now that Johnson has sat out a week, I don't expect to see him at less than near full strength. It's much easier to convince a player to continue to rest after they've missed a game with an injury and seen the improvement they've made without taking a step back by playing before they've recovered. That doesn't mean Johnson won't play this week, but I think he's much closer to doubtful than probable as of Monday.
CARSON PALMER | NERVE CONTUSION | WEEK-TO-WEEK
I was surprised Palmer played Sunday. Kent Somers said Palmer was lobbing passes, at best, on Friday before leaving for Denver for more treatment on his arm. But Palmer made enough throws in warmups to convince Bruce Arians he'd be able to execute the game plan for Arizona.
The Cardinals did not shy away from using Palmer, asking him to throw 44 passes (against just 22 rushing attempts). Palmer completed 28 passes (64%) for 250 yards and two touchdowns. Arians didn't shy away from deeper routes and passes to the opposite hashmark, so there were many representative passes to examine.
I'll just show two examples. For the most part, Palmer was able to throw with accuracy and more velocity than I expected. But his arm is clearly still recovering.
Here's the healthy Carson Palmer, who has one of the strongest arms in the league.
The first pass is a 25-yard rope between four defenders, his first of the season against San Diego. The second is a 50-yard ball that shows how good Palmer's deep arm can be.
Here are two of Palmer's throws yesterday.
This ball travels 40 yards in the air in the fourth quarter after Palmer has thrown over 35 passes. But it's got more of a hump than we usually see from Palmer and is a little late, allowing the defender to just get there in time. This might have been a touchdown in Week 1.
I'm cherry picking on this next GIF, but it's an important cherry pick.
That's not anything like the healthy Carson Palmer, something he acknowledged after the game.
Palmer status next week "I'm not out of the clear. I need to continue to do treatment for I don't know how long... been very unpredictable."
— Mike Jurecki (@mikejurecki) October 13, 2014
Monday is huge for Palmer. 44 passes is a huge number for a player still recovering from nerve damage and asking his body to do more than it's ready to do. If he avoids a setback -- swelling, soreness, weakness -- similar to what he suffered early in the Arizona bye week, it may be smooth sailing. But there are issues here. Coordinators will see this tape and game plan for it. It may be another month (or much longer) before Palmer returns to his Week 1 form.
montee ball | groin strain | week-to-week
Jay Glazer reported on FOX's Sunday pregame show Montee Ball tore a groin tendon away from the bone. If that's accurate, it's very similar to the Danny Amendola's injury last year. Amendola missed three weeks with the injury and arguably should've missed more before eventually choosing to have surgery this offseason.
Glazer gave a similar timetable -- 3-4 weeks -- but I still believe that's optimistic. I'll stick with 4-8 weeks until we hear positive practice participation reports. This won't be an easy recovery for a running back.
AROUND THE TRAINING TABLE
I'll also be watching for news on the Gio Bernard (shoulder), Tony Romo (rib) and Eddie Royal (rib) injuries. Both Bernard and Romo finished their games on Sunday, but I expect both to be limited early this week. I'll have more today if news breaks and updates on their condition after their Wednesday practice.
Geoff Hobson slipped the following into his post-game article yesterday:
There is also the unknown about when wide receivers A.J. Green(toe) and Marvin Jones (ankle) are going to return. As in, there is no time frame for either of them and there is some talk that they may think about surgery for Jones.
That's not good news for Jones. The Bengals have already used the IR-return designation on Tyler Eifert and are in a very tough spot with both Green and Jones in limbo. If Green was healthy, we may already have seen Jones headed to injured reserve. There aren't many ankle injuries where surgery is debated which heal in a short timeframe. I wouldn't expect to see Jones for many weeks.
We should also hear updates on Rashad Jennings (MCL), Ryan Mathews (MCL), Reggie Bush (ankle), Mark Ingram (hand), Jonathan Stewart (MCL) and DeAngelo Williams (high ankle) early this week. I think Bush may have the best chance to play this week, but I won't fully believe he's ready to go until we see him practice. Ingram and Stewart are very near the end of their expected timetables. Mathews is likely still a week away and I think it's unlikely we'll see Jennings until after the Giants' Week 8 bye.
This feature focuses on skill position players, but it's been a horrible year for linebacker and offensive line injuries. Add three more devastating defensive injuries, including two more linebackers in Danny Trevathan (knee) and Jerod Mayo (knee) and cornerback Dee Milliner (Achilles tear). Milliner is definitely out for the rest of 2014. Trevathan and Mayo are awaiting imaging studies which will determine their fate. Alex Mack (broken fibula, torn syndesmosis) is done for the year, as is Brian Winters (likely ACL).
I'll be updating this feature throughout the day. Footballguys Insiders will get a full update with additional fantasy perspectives on Wednesday, with analysis of the week's game-time decisions early Sunday morning. Follow me on Twitter @JeneBramel for breaking injury news and analysis throughout the week.
