The National Football League is a fickle beast. For players and coaches, each year is a chance at a new opportunity. For some, though, opportunity passes before they have a chance to show their worth.
Whether it be due to poor off-season performance, injury, or other unforeseen anomalies, some players’ seasons end before they really get a chance to begin.
With that, here are 10 NFL stars whose seasons were over before they really got a chance to begin.
10. Los Angeles Chargers – Mike Williams
Unfortunately for the Chargers’ passing attack, Mike Williams suffered a torn ACL during the teams’ week three win against the Minnesota Vikings. The big bodied wide receiver was on pace to complete his third career season with over 1,000 receiving yards before the injury took him out of the lineup for Los Angeles’ foreseeable future.
Williams was also on pace to eclipse 5,000 receiving yards this year, but at age 28 with seven seasons under his belt, he is likely to inch closer to that goal next season.
9. Pittsburgh Steelers – Diontae Johnson
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As of late, Diontae Johnson’s career has been, in a word, unfortunate. After putting up over 800 receiving yards with no touchdowns (the most by any receiver in the league last season with no touchdowns), Johnson was again unable to record a score this year before being sidelined with a hamstring injury that will likely keep him down for a while.
As we’ve learned, hamstring injuries, much like turf toe, have a tendency to linger. With the Pittsburgh offense relying more and more on tight end Pat Friermeuth and wide receiver George Pickens, Johnson has the ability to stay sidelined longer while he recovers — maybe until the end of the year.
8. Detroit Lions – C.J. Gardner-Johnson
Ceedy Deuce has made a name for himself being the face of whatever franchise he joins. Most recently, Gardner-Johnson could be seen adorning an extremely blue ski mask while representing the Detroit secondary.
The safety tore his pectoral muscle during a week two loss to the Seattle Seahawks and had to be carted off the field. With the Lions looking to address holes in their defense this past offseason, Gardner-Johnson was a prized free-agent acquisition signed to a one-year deal. Now, after betting on himself, the safety may be looking at another “prove it” type deal in the upcoming offseason.
7. Tennessee Titans – Ryan Tannehill
Unlike the others on this list, Tannehill’s season is not over due to unforeseen circumstances. The 35 year old quarterback is downright playing himself out of a job.
Through three games, the signal caller has a touchdown to interception ratio of 1-3 and looks like one of the worst passers with a starting job. Unfortunately for him, there are two hungry dogs waiting in the wings, both of which are fresh faces to rejuvenate a Tennessee offense.
6. Baltimore Ravens – J.K. Dobbins
Tell me if you’ve heard this one before… J.K. Dobbins faces a season ending injury after tearing something in his legs. Can you blame the player?
No. Knee health is a ticking time bomb, and Baltimore ranked their own strength and condition as an F. Despite this, the Ravens brought back the same staff which has, as it always inevitably would, led to key player injuries. Unfortunately for the rarely available Dobbins, he is no exception.
5. Las Vegas Raiders – Chandler Jones
Chandler Jones’s mental health crisis episode is weird, sad, and confusing all wrapped into one. Since none of the facts are clearly presented or understood at this time, I’m going to leave this where it is and say that I think it’s safe to say his season’s done… for now. Definitely for the Raiders.
4. Los Angeles Rams – Cooper Kupp
The media and fans online treat Michael Thomas with absolute slander about his physical health, but what’s rarely talked about is how Cooper Kupp’s injury history as of late has looked extremely similar. Since 2018, Kupp has suffered an MCL sprain, ACL tear, two ankle sprains and a hamstring injury, the last of which still has Kupp sidelined. Time will tell how long it takes Kupp to recover from the injury, but it could keep him out for the season — again.
3. Cleveland Browns – Nick Chubb
Nick Chubb’s injury during week three of the season was as gruesome on camera as they come. After nearly folding his leg completely the wrong way, Chubb got lucky by only tearing his MCL. While an MCL tear will keep him out for the season, it is the best of the knee tears he could have had. It’s a miracle he didn’t do more damage.
2. Dallas Cowboys – Trevon Diggs
The ball hawking cornerback suffered the lamest kind of injury. Practice injuries are no fun, and because they don’t happen in live action, it can often take longer to receive medical care. Diggs’ torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee happened during a Thursday practice, no less, the most serious of the week. Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy called Diggs’ injury “a punch in the gut.” After a 28-16 loss to the Cardinals, it’s clear to see the Cowboys miss their CB1.
1. New York Jets – Aaron Rodgers
The world was watching when Rodgers snapped his Achilles live on week one Monday Night Football. The team was only on the first drive of the season with the injury disrupting everything the Jets were expecting out of this year. Now, Rodgers is aiming at a playoff comeback, a goal that is unrealistic at best and dangerous at worst. Safe to say, his year’s done. Maybe next year, Rodgers
