American football, or gridiron, is one of the most physically demanding games on the globe. Players crash far too frequently, resulting in dislocations and concussions. These injuries can have a long-term impact on players. NFL players are in great danger of head injury from football-related ailments, as the 2015 film Concussion highlighted.
Although injuries are common in sports, NFL management places a high value on safety precautions. Despite this, we have seen career-ending injuries and miraculous recoveries from catastrophic injuries throughout the NFL's history. We combed through history to present you with the top ten worst injuries in American football / NFL history.
10. Destroy Wright
Destry Wright of the Pittsburgh Steelers is in critical condition after breaking his leg and spraining his right ankle.
The most unpleasant thing that can happen to a young athlete who is full of energy is for his career to stop as soon as it begins. Destry Wright, who only played one season for the Pittsburgh Steelers, experienced just this.
Wright hurt his ankle in a preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys in June 2000, resulting in dislocation and fracture of his right leg. His right foot was rotated in the other direction due to the severity of the injury. Due to his injury, Wright was forced to retire.
9. Jeff Fuller
In October 1989, Jeff Fuller of the San Francisco 49ers was injured.
The San Francisco 49ers played the New England Patriots at Stanford University Stadium shortly after the Loma Prieta earthquake. Jeff Fuller collided with an opponent's helmet during this bout, which took place in October 1989.
The collision damaged his neck and left him partially paraplegic. After the incident, Fuller was unable to stand. Fuller had to go to treatment and had to give up his football career. He can now walk, but he is unable to use one of his hands.
8. Bo Jackson
Photo: fanbuzz
Bo Jackson is the only athlete to be named All-Star in both baseball and American football, making him one of the most athletically versatile people on the planet. Bo got involved in an extremely difficult tackle while playing for the Los Angeles Raiders in January 1991.
His hip bone was broken and dislocated as a result of the tackle. Bo's wounded hip had lost all cartilage, and he had to retire from football and rugby.
7. Junior Seau
Photo: usatoday
Junior Seau has been suffering after sustaining an arm injury in 2006. Junior Seau recalls the agonizing clashes between NFL players. Beyond the glitz and hilarity on the field, NFL players are human beings with feelings just like the rest of us.
In a game against the Chicago Bears in 2006, after coming out of retirement to play for the New England Patriots, Seau attempted a tackle and fractured his arm.
As he rolled to the ground, his arm shattered, and you could see him swaying. This is how Seau ended his football career. Years later, in 2012, the NFL player committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest.
6. Eric Wood
Photo: billswire.usatoday
Eric Wood in November 2009, following a fractured leg injury. Wood began playing together as soon as he signed a five-year contract with the Buffalo Bills. However, during a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in November 2009, opposition player Montavious Stanley collided with Wool and crushed his shin. Wood's leg was broken in half by the tackle.
He had a complicated fracture of the tibia and fibula, it was discovered. Fortunately, Wood has recovered in time to join the Bills for the 2010 season.
5. Navorro Bowman
Photo: eastbaytimes
In 2014, NaVorro Bowman suffered a knee injury. Bowman was part of a group of players battling for the ball while playing for the San Francisco 49ers in 2014. An opposing player landed on Bowman's leg in the middle of the scrum, causing him to bend down.
Unaware of what had happened, the opposing player landed entirely on Bowman, exacerbating his injuries. His knee would flex at a 45-degree angle. He missed the 2014 season due to injury, but he returned to the game in 2015.
4. Jeremy Lane
Photo: bleacherreport
Jeremy Lane was # 20 of the Seattle Seahawks after suffering a catastrophic arm injury during the 2015 Super Bowl.
Lane was tackled by opposing player Julian Edelman in Super Bowl 2015 while playing for the Seattle Seahawks against the New England Patriots. His arm fractured as a result of the impact of his weight, and he was injured from the wrist to the elbow.
3. Darryl Stingley
Photo: cbsnews
During an NFL preseason game in 1978, Oakland Raiders' Jack Tatum delivered the devastating punch that crippled Darryl Stingley.
This injury, one of the worst in NFL history, ripped my heart out completely. Stingley collided with Oakland Raiders player Jack Tatum while playing for the New England Patriots in a preseason game in 1978.
Tatum's helmet impacted Stingley's shoulder during the collision. The spinal cord and the 4th and 5th cervical vertebrae were all ruptured as a result of the impact. After the crash, Stingley became quadriplegic and was unable to get up.
2. Mike Utley
Photo: clickondetroit
Mike Utley was transported on a stretcher shortly after the devastating 1991 injury.
Utley is regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in NFL history. Up until the November 1991 disaster, he appeared in every Detroit Lions game in 1991.
Utley was shot and unable to move during a game against the Los Angeles Rams. He showed fans a thumbs-up to signal he was okay during his trauma, but the exact opposite happened. Utley shattered a cervical vertebra during the shock and will be paraplegic as a result.
1. Kevin Everett
Photo: memorialhermann
Kevin Everett of the Buffalo Bills had a neck injury in September 2007.
In September 2007, the former Buffalo Bills player's career came to an end as he attempted to face Denver Broncos standout Domenik Hixon. Everett suffered a neck injury as a result of the tackle. Then he collapsed to the ground, unconscious, and a fan whisked him away from the camp.
The cervical spine was later discovered to be dislocated and shattered. His career was cut short due to this injury. He did, however, gradually resume movement.
