Playing in the NFL is not for the faint of heart. We have long known that. Over the years, there has been a seemingly infinite number of injuries, but some are so dramatic that they endure in the national consciousness. Sometimes it is the stakes of the game or the reputation of the player. Other times it is the sheer gruesomeness of the injury.
Let’s take a look at the 10 most dramatic injuries in NFL history.
Aaron Rodgers
Sure. There is a little bit of recency bias here, but the Aaron Rodgers injury on Monday Night Football was easily one of the most dramatic injuries we’ve seen in some time. There was so much hype around this Jets team even potentially acquiring Rodgers, the deal lingered on, and then they finally got him.
A Week 1 Monday Night Football matchup with the reigning division champion Buffalo Bills was supposed to be Rodgers and the Jets coming out party, but within a handful of plays the Meadowlands went dead silent, as the 39-year-old QB went down with a torn Achilles.
A turn of events that literally couldn’t be scripted.
Joe Theisman
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Lawrence Taylor sacking then Washington Redskins quarterback, Joe Theisman, is one of the most famous plays in NFL history, albeit for dubious reasons. Between the two players primarily involved in the play and the horrible visual, this one stunned and sat with NFL fans in a way that few injuries ever have.
Alex Smith
Well, you can’t talk about the Joe Theisman play without thinking Alex Smith—another Washington signal caller’s horrendous leg injury.
After all, essentially the same injury happened to the guy playing the same position, for the same franchise, 33 years to the day! Bonus points for the added drama of Alex Smith’s legendary comeback story.
Brock Purdy
Strange as it seems, an elbow injury to Mr. Irrelevant ended up being one of the most dramatic injuries we have seen in recent memory. Heading into the season the San Francisco 49ers were a popular Super Bowl pick—and despite a myriad of quarterback injuries, they were well on their way.
But as it turns out, Brock Purdy was the last rabbit Kyle Shanahan had in his hat and after he went down in last year’s NFC Championship game it was curtains for their Super Bowl aspirations.
Antonio Brown
During the 2015 AFC Divisional round, Bengals linebacker, Vontaze Burfict delivered a nasty cheap shot to Brown’s head, as the All-Pro wide receiver was running across the middle. The hit sent both sidelines into a tizzy and knocked the Steelers’ best player out of the game with a concussion.
It is unconfirmed, but there is intense speculation that this hit unalterably changed Brown’s entire demeanor as a person and might be responsible for the erratic behavior we’ve seen from him in the time since.
Ryan Shazier
Ryan Shazier was another phenomenal Steelers player to suffer a horrendous injury against the Bengals.
Two years removed from the Brown hit, Shazier was trying to make a tackle of his own, but the collision sent him straight to the turf, where he lay paralyzed for some time.
Fortunately, Shazier has since regained the ability to walk, but this injury cost him the remainder of a promising NFL career.
Damar Hamlin
There have been few moments in sports history more intense than the aftermath of the Damar Hamlin tragedy. Hamlin’s Bills were facing off against Joe Burrow and the Bengals in a highly anticipated rendition of Monday Night Football, but just six minutes into the game, a collision with Tee Higgins sent him into cardiac arrest.
Luckily, Hamlin was able to pull through, but it was an extremely traumatic and trying time for all involved.
Destry Wright
Destry Wright may not be a name that our younger fans are familiar with but during a preseason game with the Dallas Cowboys in 2000, the former Steelers running back suffered an injury that was so visibly jarring it sent shivers across America’s collective spine.
Two feet facing in different directions? Tough to get more dramatic than that.
Plaxico Burress
People often forget, but in 2008, after upsetting the 18 and 0 New England Patriots, the New York Giants came back with a fury, ready to defend their title. In fact, many pundits believe that the ’08 team, which started 11 and one was even better than the previous years.
Unfortunately, the team’s star wide receiver Plaxico Burress infamously suffered a leg injury midseason as the result of an accidental firearm discharge in an area nightclub. Between the circumstances and the stakes, high drama through and through.
Tom Brady
Few football players have had a competitive spirit even close to that of Tom Brady. So, needless to say, expectations were high for Brady and the Patriots’ revenge tour in 2008 following their heartbreaking, Giant loss in the Super Bowl the year before.
The greater New England area and really the entire NFL world, however, was sent into shock Week 1 when Brady, who was starting his 111th straight game went down with a torn ACL in the first quarter of the game.
