Category — Injuries

Vince Young has been nursing a sore quad for some time now, since mid-October, in fact. And during last night’s game against the Denver Broncos, he apparently bruised that same quad on a play that technically didn’t happen.

Bad news for Colts fans: the team that has already been riddled with critical injuries and losses this season (and before it began) may now be missing Dwight Freeney for the rest of the season.

According to ESPN’s John Clayton, Freeney has suffered Lisfranc; one of football’s most dreaded injuries. The Lisfranc fracture is a fracture and dislocation of the joints in the midfoot, where a cluster of small bones forms an arch on top of the foot between the ankle and the toes. Already Freeney was expected to miss several weeks with the injury, but there was hope he’d be ready to return in time for the postseason. Lisfranc injuries typically take months of rehabilitation, regardless of whether surgery is required to repair the damage.

Here’s some great news: Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terry Glenn expects to return this season. That’s unbelievable news for the player that, at one point this year, didn’t know if he’d be able to play again, perhaps ever. Unfortunately, he hasn’t narrowed his return down yet, so no circling the calendar.

“His spirits are good,” coach Wade Phillips said. “He’s rehabbing his quad; they are building that up. Once you have a knee operation, you need the quad to go down, so they’re building that up.”

Glenn has made it clear he wants to take his time rehabbing. No need to rush things.

For those of you who thought St. Louis Rams tackle Orlando Pace was mulling retirement, he’s here to tell you otherwise. A report today indicates he is in no way ready to retire, at least not until the conclusion of next season. If he’s healthy before the ‘08 season kicks off, he’ll be wearing a uniform.

“I’m going to come back and play,” Pace told the Post-Dispatch. “I will play. Initially, (retirement) crosses your mind. You think, ‘Man, I can’t go through another year like this.’”

The 7-time Pro Bowl tackle has had his season ended the past two years, an obviously frustrating experience. But he wants to leave the game on his own terms:

The Denver Broncos may soon be getting a longtime teammate back in the game. Rod Smith, who was placed on the team’s PUP list before the start of the season, was practicing Wednesday, and according to head coach Mike Shanahan, the 37 year old receiver could be ready to play Monday night against the Packers.

Smith’s return for the game could be pivotal, too. It would certainly help the Broncos injury-plagued corps if another receiver was back, and, perhaps more importantly, it would give the team a motivational boost to have him back.

Reports make it obvious that his teammates are excited to see him catching balls in practice.

With every pass Smith caught in warmups, the chants of “We love Rod” from the defensive backs grew louder.

All reports indicate that Kelly Holcomb is set to start in place of still-injured Tarvaris Jackson this Sunday against the Eagles. The latter fractured his finger last weekend and is expected to miss a game. Assuming he does it will be Holcomb’s third start of the season.

“Every guy’s different with thresholds of pain, too,” Holcomb said, in reference to Jackson. “I know he did take some snaps and he did throw the ball. He looked pretty good with a fractured finger, but I can’t say what he’s feeling. I know that guys have played through that, and then I know that guys haven’t. I guess it depends on the person.”

Carolina’s David Carr was practicing Thursday, but there’s no word whether he’ll see the starting lineup this weekend against Indianapolis. Vinny Testaverde started the Panthers last game (week 6) and while he didn’t look great — it’s understandable he was a little rusty — he got the job done for the Panthers. Not that it’s hard to throw the ball to Steve Smith (who was the target of 136 of Testaverde’s 206 passing yards), but the 43 year old did a pretty good job for not having a lot of prep time.

That said, David Carr is probably the better quarterback. Not that Vinny can’t get the job done but I think Carr gives the Panthers the best shot to win a game. Testaverde more or less won’t lose the game for Carolina.

The Denver Post is reporting that Javon Walker will not need microfracture surgery to repair the damages in his right knee. The Broncos’ star receiver has missed the past two weeks with the injury and recently underwent successful arthroscopic surgery Friday. Doctors reported that he will likely miss six weeks, though there is the possibility (not likely, however) things could take a turn for the worst which would result in his missing the entire season.

This all brings us to the question, should fantasy owners keep him or drop him? The earliest he’ll be back, according to reports, is week 13 against the Raiders. That’s just prior to most fantasy playoffs, a time when Walker may be needed.

It seems the Rams coaching staff realized that Gus Frerotte isn’t the cure to what ails the offense. His six turnover performance (5 of which were interceptions) reminded fans that he’s one of the worst backup quarterbacks in the NFL. In his defense the Rams (0-6) are one of the worst teams in the NFL right now, competing with Miami and Cincinnati for that title.

So in his stead Marc Bulger will return to the offense. He’s missed the past couple weeks with a pair of broken ribs.

“Yeah, I’m playing,” Bulger said. “I’m ready now after standing around for two weeks. They definitely feel a little better, but I haven’t been hit.

Update: Kurt Warner is expected to miss this Sunday’s game but return after that. 

Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner sent an email to friends and family Sunday night stating that he has torn ligaments in his left (non-throwing) elbow in hopes that the power of prayer can repair the damages before he goes in for an MRI today.

Divine intervention aside, Arizona fans can still rest easy. Reportedly, Ken Whisenhunt is optimistic concerning the injury, a good sign considering Warner is the team’s only real option at quarterback. Tim Rattay just isn’t a good enough filler — the Cardinals probably regret beginning the season with only two quarterbacks on roster (Matt Leinart — out for the season — being the other). They also were preparing to add Tim Hasselbeck to the roster later today to be the emergency quarterback.