Is the Lack of a Preseason Causing a Rash of Injuries in the NFL?

After two weeks of the NFL season, the pandemic we see spreading around the league like a virus comes in the form of season-ending injuries.

No, we aren’t seeing the spike of positive COVID-19 tests like we did in baseball, but NFL teams are losing key players quickly due to injury. Some of these injured players won’t be seen again until next season and we want to know why.

Is it the Turf or is it Something Else?

During Week 2 of the NFL season, the San Francisco 49ers traveled to New York to play the Jets. The 49ers players were commenting after the game that the turf in the stadium felt different and felt like it was holding their cleats more than normal. These comments came after the team lost five starting players during this one game, but is it really the turf that’s the problem?

The Turf has Something to Do with More Injuries

A recent study of NFL players from 2012-2016, which was published in the American Journal of Medicine, reported that playing on a synthetic turf resulted in an increase in lower extremity injuries by 16 percent when compared to playing on natural turf. Even with that in mind, can the turf on one field be the cause of concern, or is it something deeper and something the NFL doesn’t want to acknowledge.

Can We Look at the Change in Training Habits for the Increase in Injuries?

A joint committee of doctors formed by the NFL and NFLA was put together early in the pandemic to try and figure out what the best way to ramp up quickly for a season of football might look like. This committee came back with the following suggestions:

21 days of strength and conditioning

10 days of non-contact ramp-up

14 days of padded practice

Only one of these suggestions was put into action, which was the padded practices. The number of padded practices was reached in a shockingly abbreviated timeline.

NFL Players Were Left to Train on Their Own

Instead of following the guidelines by the doctors, the NFL mandated 6/7 days of strength and conditioning, five days of non-contact ramp-up, and the padded practices, which happened very quickly. This was the plan after players had been without rookie minicamps and organized team activities for an entire offseason.

What Were Players Left to Do?

During the COVID-19 quarantine, NFL players were left to train by themselves and figure out how to make sure their bodies were in proper shape for the upcoming season. While many did so, you can’t replace the practices and contact of a full training camp and four preseason games with a few padded practices and barely any conditioning work. Some players don’t own the proper equipment to get in shape for the season, which puts them at a serious disadvantage when it comes time to get on the field.

How Many NFL Preseason Games Is the Right Number?

In addition to a regimented off-season time for workouts, most NFL players are used to playing four preseason games. These games are important. They are the time when players get to hit another team and play in game situations. One of the greatest benefits of these games is the expanded roster and use of many players, which allows the starting players to play less while still getting some work in.

No Preseason Equals More Injuries

Instead of the typical four preseason games, the NFL players had to go directly from an abbreviated training camp to games that meant something. This should be fine, right? College players do it all the time, right? With the advanced speed, strength, and smaller rosters of NFL teams compared to college, the challenges are much greater. Instead of playing a handful of plays in each of the four games before the season, these players were expected to be ready to play full games that count toward the overall record right away.

Rosters Were Shortened from the Start

During the shortened NFL training camps, the roster, which normally begins at 90 players, was already cut to 80. This means more reps being taken by everyone else and more wear and tear on their bodies. When you factor in the five people in the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list and the typical number out for sprains and muscle soreness the number during a practice could be as few as 60, which means even more reps for each player.

NFL Players Needed Time for Their Bodies to Adjust

The 2020 pandemic caused the NFL to experience one of its longest off-seasons, but not the longest ever experienced. If we look back to other years when lockouts and strikes happened during labor negotiations, we see shortened seasons with several injuries right away. This happens because a collision sport, such as what football is, needs time for players to get their bodies adjusted to being hit and bouncing back right away. That didn’t happen this year.

The Results of the Week 2 NFL Injuries

Of the 21 injuries that were reported during the Week 2 games in the NFL, ten of them were on grass and 11 on turf. That’s not a large enough number to blame only the turf for the injuries. Instead, blame the lack of preseason, blame the NFL ramping things up too fast, and blame some of them on just bad luck because NFL players get injured every single year.

You’ll See New Names in the NFL This Year

Whether you simply love to watch your favorite team play or you enjoy getting completely immersed in the sport with Fantasy Football and a full slate of games every week, the NFL is back. It might not look the same, you might see new names that you haven’t seen in the past, but it’s back. You can enjoy the games, admire the players, and see how your favorite team does, but expect to see a few injuries along the way; especially during the early weeks of the season.