Which preseason injury will have the most impact moving forward? | You Pod to Win the Game
Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson and Prime Video’s Michael Smith discuss the most devastating injuries thus far during the preseason. The Jets have been hit hard by the injury bug. Wide receivers in the AFC West have gone down as well. Michael believes just the act of being drafted by the wrong team at the wrong time can derail your career by injury, as well as circumstances facing that franchise. Hear the full conversation on the You Pod to Win the Game podcast. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
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CHARLES ROBINSON: There are definitely some injuries. We're seeing the Browns are losing guys. Obviously, Zach Wilson with the Jets. The Jets and Mekhi Becton, I mean, the Jets feel snake bitten sometimes to me when I look at it.
MICHAEL SMITH: I know.
CHARLES ROBINSON: Mecole Hardman goes down with a groin injury, which he walked, hopped on the cart. That's a good sign the fact that he was walking. But groin is soft tissue, soft tissue for guys that are speed guys, those can be tricky and linger, and so who knows what that-- and he's an extremely important guy for the Chiefs this year.
The Patriots, obviously, the secondary, has had injuries. I mean Malcolm Butler, it was a short lived return, so I'm just curious whether or not you're looking out and you're starting to see some of these injuries. I think the Wilson injury potentially is the biggest one this year. And I mean, shoot, the Broncos. Tim Patrick, obviously, the Tim Patrick knee injury.
MICHAEL SMITH: Yeah, so far it's the big one.
CHARLES ROBINSON: Yeah, it was awful. That was a really rough one for them. So I don't think we've seen the future of a team this season completely dramatically altered, except for the fact that I think the Jets had a chance to hit off this season on a positive note. I don't know what Wilson ultimately would have looked like if you would've started the season there.
To me, though, I am troubled by the fact that I know it's the meniscus trim. Arthroscopic surgery is not the absolute worst kind of surgery we have done with a quarterback. But that said, it's such an important pivotal building time for that kid, and--
MICHAEL SMITH: Exactly.
CHARLES ROBINSON: --I hate the fact that we're already messing with his meniscus on what was a non-contact injury.
MICHAEL SMITH: I hear you, and I agree with 100% about the organization in general, Zach Wilson in particular. Like it is part of the reason why I love the draft more than any other sporting event is how hope Springs eternal and all 32 teams can claim victory. We were handing the championship trophy for the draft to the New York Jets just yesterday in Las Vegas.
It does just feel like when it rains, it pours with them, or Murphy's law, whatever you want to call it. Specifically for the quarterback, and I would actually lump in Justin Fields here. Justin Fields already on Head Coach number two through no fault of his own.
But these formative years for quarterbacks, it's like children, man, it's like the scars that these quarterbacks take physically and psychologically. Or even just the turnover that can occur when an organization, one year end, the organization that drafted you looks completely different from a management standpoint if you're Justin Fields.
Their careers can be derailed before it even gets started through no fault of their own because their name got called and a certain pick by a certain team on draft night. And so Zach Wilson, great as much promise as he had coming out of BYU, whether it's his own injuries or injuries around him. Or in Chicago, have they not figured out the quarterback spot because they don't know how to draft quarterbacks or they don't know how to develop quarterbacks or you don't get either of them enough time?
The people that's developing or the quarterbacks being developed. Who knows? But it just-- it feels like Justin Fields is destined to be somebody that is to be a Baker Mayfield. We just talked about Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold. We just talked about two quarterbacks on the same damn team drafted in the same draft. 1 and 3 that are now with different organizations before the expiration of their rookie contracts. Wouldn't shock me if Justin Fields and Zach Wilson are in the same meeting room three years from now through no fault of their own.
