Not every team will start the season with their preferred starting lineup intact.
While coaches deciding to sit starters through the preseason has cut down on key injuries as we head into the regular season, sometimes they’re unavoidable. A few other players are suspended to start the season. There were plenty of holdouts through August as well, but most of those situations have been resolves.
Here are the key injuries, suspensions and holdouts to keep in mind as we start the NFL season.
Dallas Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland: Bland, off a stunning All-Pro season in which he led the NFL with nine interceptions and returned an amazing five for touchdowns, will start the season on injured reserve after foot surgery. He suffered a stress fracture in his foot in late August and was expected to miss 6-8 weeks.
Carolina Panthers RB Jonathon Brooks: The Panthers made Brooks the first running back off the board in last April’s NFL Draft despite knowing he was unlikely to be ready for the start of the season due to a torn ACL. Brooks, a second-round pick, suffered the injury last Nov. 11. He’ll be on the physically unable to perform list to start the season. He can return after four weeks but he’s likely to be eased back in slowly.
Kansas City Chiefs WR Marquise Brown: Brown was a smart offseason addition by the Chiefs but Kansas City‘s insistence on playing its starters in the preseason will cost them Brown for at least one week. Brown dislocated his sternoclavicular joint and he has been ruled out for Week 1.
Miami Dolphins OLB Bradley Chubb: Chubb tore his ACL on Dec. 31 and will start the season on the PUP list. The Dolphins haven’t given a timetable for when they expect Chubb to return.
Cleveland Browns RB Nick Chubb: It will be a great story when Chubb returns from a brutal knee injury suffered in Week 2 last season. Chubb will be on the reserve/physically unable to perform list to start the season, meaning he’ll miss at least the first four weeks. The Browns will be hoping he looks like his normal self when he returns.
Chiefs RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire: The Chiefs put Edwards-Helaire on the non-football injury (NFI) list, as the running back deals with post-traumatic stress disorder and cyclic vomiting syndrome. He will be out at least four weeks.
San Francisco 49ers LB Dre Greenlaw: Greenlaw suffered a weird and unfortunate injury, tearing his Achilles tendon during the Super Bowl while running onto the field before a defensive possession. He will miss at least the first four weeks of the season and probably much longer than that as he recovers.
Minnesota Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson: Hockenson suffered a torn ACL late last season and is still recovering. It’s possible he’s back by Week 5, but Minnesota will be without one of the NFL’s best tight ends to start the season.
Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy: This one was a bummer. The Vikings’ first-round pick was unlikely to begin the season as the starting quarterback, but he played well in his one preseason game and was probably going to play at some point. But he suffered a knee injury and had season-ending surgery.
Buffalo Bills LB Matt Milano: Milano suffered a biceps injury in August. It appeared initially he could miss the entire season, but the Bills are holding out hope he could return late. It’s a big blow for the Bills defense to lose the 2022 All-Pro linebacker, however much time he misses.
49ers receiver Ricky Pearsall: In a scary situation, the 49ers’ first-round pick was shot in the chest during a robbery attempt just days before the start of the season and was hospitalized. He was placed on the non-football injury list and will miss at least four games.
Arizona Cardinals DE Darius Robinson: The Cardinals defense is thin on talent and lost its first-round pick for the first part of the season. Robinson was put on injured reserve with a calf injury.
Suspensions
Houston Texans DL Denico Autry: The Texans signed Autry this offseason to help the line, but that won’t happen for a while. The 10-year vet is suspended six games for a violation of the league’s performance enhancing drugs policy.
Los Angeles Rams QB Jimmy Garoppolo: Garoppolo is the Rams‘ new backup quarterback but he was suspended two games for a violation of the league’s PED policy. He said it was due to a mistake in filing for a therapeutic use exemption.
Rams OT Alaric Jackson: Jackson started 15 games at left tackle for the Rams last season. He was a nice surprise in a good season for the team. But Jackson will miss the first two games of this season due to a violation of the league’s personal conduct policy.
Arizona Cardinals WR Zay Jones: The Cardinals signed Jones to help with a receiving corps that suddenly has a lot of options. But Jones will miss the first five games of the season for a violation of the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
Holdouts
Cincinnati Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase: Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb and Brandon Aiyuk all got big-money deals this offseason, but Chase waits. After sitting out of practice for weeks, Chase was a “limited” participant in practice Wednesday as he awaits a deal that puts him in line with the elite receivers in the game. The longer Chase holds out, the less likely it is that he’s a big factor early in the season.
New York Jets DE Haason Reddick: Reddick was acquired in a trade from the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason and wanted a new contract. The Jets didn’t give him one. Reddick requested a trade. The Jets said they wouldn’t trade him. Reddick is still away from the team, though the Jets say they still think he could contribute as soon as he reports.
