Logan Thomas, Kenyan Drake Out for the Season

NFL Week 13 – The NFL retained last season’s relaxed injured reserve rules for 2021, meaning that any player who is placed on injured reserve after the final roster cutdown day is eligible to return to practice after missing three weeks. As a result, we will continue to distinguish between players who will be placed on injured reserve (IR) and players who will likely miss the entire remainder of the season (Season).

Football Team Tight End Logan Thomas—Knee (Season)

Logan Thomas will miss the rest of the season after tearing his ACL against the Raiders. The injury will require surgery, which places his availability for the start of the 2022 season in doubt. At the very least, he is likely to miss a significant portion of the team’s offseason program.

Backup linebacker Khaleke Hudson, playing due to the injury to Landon Collins, left the game with an ankle injury.

Raiders Halfback Kenyan Drake—Ankle (Season)

Kenyan Drake will miss the rest of the season after breaking his ankle against Washington. This is the second season in a row that Drake has suffered a major ankle injury on a similar type of tackle, a fact that he was quick to highlight on social media after the game.

Graphic Video Warning: The #NFL needs to look at this specific style of tackling. They are throwing flags for taunting and protecting qbs from getting touched but this is my 2nd straight season being injured by a guy pulling me back and using his body weight to roll up my legs. pic.twitter.com/zgJt4rM9yG

— Kenyan Drake™ (@KDx32) December 6, 2021

Drake’s injury will probably require surgery, and he will miss the rest of 2021, but he should be fully recovered in time for the start of the 2022 season.

Linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski has been battling to return from an ankle injury, which he appears to have aggravated, forcing him out of the contest. Fellow linebackers Denzel Perryman and Cory Littleton were also injured during the game. Littleton’s stinger is unlikely to result in missed time, whereas Perryman’s ankle injury might, depending on its exact nature and severity.

Vikings Receiver Adam Thielen—Ankle (IR?)

Vikings receiver Adam Thielen left Sunday’s game with an ankle injury, since reported as a high-ankle sprain. If confirmed by MRI, that is bad news: more than half of high-ankle injuries to receivers cause a five-week absence, which would be enough to cost Thielen the rest of the regular season. If the Vikings can eke out a postseason berth, which appears unlikely after their loss to the Lions in Week 13, Thielen would have a chance to return for the first playoff game. He will probably spend the rest of the regular season on injured reserve.

Ravens Cornerback Marlon Humphrey—Shoulder (Season)

Reports today suggest that Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey will miss the rest of the season with the shoulder injury that forced him out of the defeat in Pittsburgh in Week 13. The combination of the injury being described as a sprain, the use of MRI rather than X-ray scans, and a potential season-ending timetable implies a labrum, rotator cuff, or potentially a pectoral tear. If that is the case, only 10% of labrum and rotator cuff injuries to defensive backs are not season-ending. The outlook is a little brighter for pectoral injuries, but those are still season-ending for defensive backs just under half the time. A 2019 All-Pro selection, Humphrey had started every game so far this season, and 40 of 42 since the start of the 2019 season.

Right tackle Patrick Mekari has a hand injury that the team expects to keep him out for “a few weeks,” according to head coach John Harbaugh. Backup Tyre Phillips replaced Mekari against the Steelers and will likely continue in that spot for the immediate future.

Bengals Linebacker Logan Wilson—Shoulder (IR)

Bengals starting linebacker and FOA 2021 top prospect Logan Wilson dislocated his shoulder against the Chargers and is out indefinitely. We do not have enough position-specific data for shoulder dislocations to project the injury for linebackers, but in general around half of players who suffer a shoulder dislocation miss a month or so with the injury. That would give Wilson a strong chance of returning for the playoffs, should the Bengals clinch a postseason appearance in his absence.

Fellow linebacker Markus Bailey suffered a stinger; the team is optimistic that he will be available for Week 14.

Concussions

The following players left their respective games with concussion symptoms and enter the league protocol:

• 49ers special teamer Trenton Cannon
• 49ers halfback Elijah Mitchell
• Buccaneers cornerback Jamel Dean
• Giants quarterback Mike Glennon
• Jets cornerback Michael Carter

Based on our current data, a growing majority of players now miss at least one game following a diagnosed concussion, but around 80% return within two weeks.

Other Injuries

49ers cornerback Emmanuel Moseley suffered an ankle sprain, though whether that was a high-ankle sprain or a low-ankle sprain has not yet been confirmed. There is quite a significant difference: the former would likely mean an absence of at least three weeks; the latter, no missed time at all. Safety Jaquiski Tartt injured his hamstring. Most hamstring injuries to defensive backs cause at least a one-game absence, but only 25% cause more than two missed games.

Buccaneers halfback Ronald Jones left the game with an illness, but the team hopes he will recover in time for their next game. Head coach Bruce Arians stated somewhat casually that defensive lineman William Gholston has “a patellar tendon issue,” before adding, “hopefully we didn’t lose anybody for this next ball game.” That would be startling if so, as roughly 95% of patellar tendon injuries are season-ending. Still, with nothing to suggest Gholston’s injury is major or his season is over, perhaps he is one of the fortunate 5%.

Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa reportedly cleared the concussion protocol, but the team held him out of the game as a precaution given his concussion history.

Dolphins backup halfback Patrick Laird sprained his MCL against the Giants and is likely to miss at least three weeks, making him a candidate for injured reserve.

Eagles halfback Miles Sanders left the game early after aggravating his ankle injury, but there appears little suggestion that he is likely to miss future games. Linebacker Patrick Johnson injured his back. Cornerback Steven Nelson injured his shoulder and was replaced by rookie Zech McPhearson.

Falcons safety Richie Grant and lineback Adetokunbo Ogundeji both suffered ankle injuries against the Buccaneers, and the team expects to have more news on them later in the week. It does not sound as though either injury is major, pending MRI scans.

Jaguars center Brandon Linder left the defeat to the Rams with a back injury. Cornerback Tyson Campbell injured his abdomen.

Jets receiver Corey Davis aggravated his groin injury. Most groin injuries to receivers do not cause missed time, but an aggravation of an existing injury is more likely to mean a short absence. Guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and tight end Ryan Griffin suffered ankle injuries, but no further news is yet available on either player.

Seahawks offensive lineman Kyle Fuller suffered a calf contusion, but the team hopes to have him back quickly. Safety Jamal Adams injured the same shoulder on which he had surgery this past offseason, and the team hopes to have more news on him by the end of Monday. Offensive tackle Brandon Shell also suffered a shoulder injury and linebacker Bryan Mone injured his knee. Again, the team hopes to have more news by the end of the day.

Texans quarterback Tyrod Taylor injured his wrist against the Colts and is likely to miss at least one game with the injury. Davis Mills will return to the starting lineup in Taylor’s stead.