11 Injured NFL Players We're Excited to See Back on the Field This Season

Image via Complex Original

Team: Kansas City Chiefs

Injury: Torn ACL (Week 5)

When a player of Jamaal Charles’ caliber goes down just a handful of games into the season, the hurt and anguish are spread across a wide football spectrum. The team loses its franchise player and with him likely whatever hopes of a title run it had prior. Fans put on a strong front but internalize the pain and start looking ahead to the next season. Fantasy owners lose one of their top workhorses, sometimes losing their minds in the process. But if there’s ever a sliver of hope, it’s in the stats, particularly the part where Charles had a career-high 285 carries and racked up 1,745 yards from scrimmage in 2012, the year after his first ACL injury.

Dude’s part of an elite group of players who’ve bounced back successfully from torn ACLs in just the past few years—a list that includes names like Von Miller, Tyrann Mathiew (more on him below), Thomas Davis, Eric Berry, to name a few. Now, as far as the upcoming 2016 season is concerned, it remains to be seen if lightning can strike twice for Charles. And though he won’t participate in OTAs this spring, he is expected to be back in (or near) full health for training camp. One thing’s for sure: Chargers fans aside, we all need more of this next season.

Team: Baltimore Ravens

Injury: Torn Achilles

There are just a handful of receivers who’ve been as durable over the years as Steve Smith. Aside from a 2004 season in which he went down with a broken leg just a game in, Smith had missed just 11 total games prior to last year. Torn Achilles? That’s certainly a tough one to come back from. Especially for a player who just celebrated his 37th birthday. But if there’s anybody who has the mental and physical toughness to overcome this, it’s Steve Smith. 

Smith is a pure football player. He doesn’t put on a show for show’s sake. Deep down to his very core, he wants to flat out beat you. And if he makes you look foolish in the process, well that’s just added value. If you think about it, that’s the best type of entertainment—seriously, who wouldn’t be excited to see Steve Smith come wreak havoc on defenses like this. Fan opinion aside, if you zoom out to see the bigger scope of things, the reality is that Smith’s days as a pro wideout are numbered. Initially, he intended 2015 to be his last year in the NFL. However, after going down with the Achilles tear midway through the regular season, the man decided to come back for another year to bid a more appropriate farewell. For that reason alone we can’t want to see what Steve brings to the gridiron in the upcoming season. 

Team: Dallas Cowboys

Injury: Fractured Collarbone / Broken Foot

Saying the Cowboys have had a rough go in recent memory would be an understatement. Since the turn of the century, the team has topped nine regular season wins just four times and has made the playoffs on just five occasions, never once getting past the Divisional round. The most concerning part about all of this is that it hasn’t been due to a lack of talent. Dez Bryant is undoubtedly one of the most imposing receivers in the game, the squad was getting ridiculous production from the running back position behind its All-Pro O-line just a few years ago, and Tony Romo, when he’s healthy, has put up some of the best regular-season numbers in the entire league year-on-end. Sure, dude always seems to choke in the playoffs, but that’s a whole different conversation altogether.

As hopeless as Jerry’s Cowboys seem with Romo and Dez on the playing field, though, there’s no question that they’re worse off without them—a hundred fold. Romo is 36 years old, though, and coming off two collarbone fractures. Dez is recovering from surgery on his right foot, which, for a player who relies on his explosiveness to get past defenders, is no minor thing. If both players are able to get back to original playing form, the Cowboys’ offense, which reloaded at the running back position by drafting Ezekiel Elliott, should be a sight to behold. That’s a big “if” though, no doubt.

Team: Carolina Panthers

Injury: Torn ACL

Cam Newton and the Panthers dominated the NFC and nearly won the Super Bowl without their No. 1 receiver last season, so just imagine what that offense can do with Benjamin back in the mix. Sure, the sample size on Kelvin is pretty small at the moment, but in his only healthy season in the NFL so far, he topped 1,000 receiving yards and scored nine TDs. Further yet, it’s unanimous amongst the football world that he possesses freakish athleticism, so the upside is massive. Whether or not Benjamin can come back strong from the torn ACL and continue to develop as a star receiver obviously remains to be seen, though early indications are that recovery is going as planned. The latest news out of Carolina is that Benjamin is expected to participate in training camp this summer in full capacity. 

Team: Arizona Cardinals

Injury: Torn ACL

The bad news for Tyrann Mathieu is that there’s no specific date for his return just yet. The good news is that there’s plenty of time left between now and the start of the 2016 season. Oh, and the previously mentioned fact that Mathieu has come back stronger from this very same injury once before in his young NFL career bodes well, too, for Arizona. Also, positive news for Cardinals fans is that this time around the rehab has been easier than the first time around.

Also known as “The Honey Badger” for his relentless style of play, Mathieu is considered one of the best DBs in the game. He’s overcome plenty of adversity both on and off the field already in his young career, so there’s no reason to doubt that he won’t do it again. The only ones not excited to see him back on the field this season are opposing wide receivers. 

Team: Miami Dolphins

Injury: Torn Achilles

At 34 years of age, you wouldn’t be remiss to think that Wake’s best playing years are behind him. Factor in a torn Achilles and the odds seem to be stacked against the All-Pro defensive end. But as the age-old adage goes, there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. And Wake seems to have found that light already. In last month’s voluntary mini-camp, he participated in sack drills and was able to run sprints without a limp—quite the accomplishment for a 270-pound beast of a man who couldn’t even walk just six months ago. To top it all off, following some stalled negotiations, Wake and the Dolphins were able to work out a contract extension that’ll see the eight-year pro stay in a Miami jersey for another two seasons. Now, he will have some competition in the form of Mario Williams, who was picked up by the Dolphins this offseason. But even if Wake can't get close to being the dominating player he was pre-injury, expect him to continue to make an impact on the defensive side of the ball.

Team: Green Bay Packers

Injury: Torn ACL (Preseason)

Aaron Rodgers and the Packers’ dreams of another Super Bowl took a major hit even before the 2015 NFL season kicked off when star wideout Jordy Nelson went down with a torn ACL on a bizarre non-contact play in a preseason game against Pittsburgh. What was undoubtedly a tough pill to swallow for Green Bay fans was even worse for Nelson, who was coming off a 2014 campaign in which he put up career numbers in almost every major receiving category: Falling just shy of 100 receptions, Jordy put up 1,519 receiving yards and found the end zone 13 times—both good for Top 5 amongst receivers and a Pro Bowl nod.

No one felt the impact of Jordy’s injury more than Rodgers, who ended the season with his lowest completion percentage in nearly a decade and failed to throw for least 4,000 yards for just the third time since he became the starting quarterback of the Packers some eight years ago. Fast-forward a year and Nelson is looking to bring his sure hands and deep-threat capability back to Lambeau in hopes of putting a team that reached the Divisional round of the playoffs without him over the top. There’s no word yet whether or not Jordy is 100 percent healthy, but all indications thus far point to a successful rehab. As these things generally tend to play out under the watchful helm of GM Ted Thompson, you can count on the Packers to take their time bringing Jordy back when he’s fully ready, and when that time comes, NFC North DB’s beware.

Team: New York Giants

Injury: Calf

Odell Beckam Jr.’s ascent to the upper echelon of NFL receivers has been so swift that some people tend to forget about the other stellar talent at wideout for the Giants: Victor Cruz. OBJ’s gravity-defying antics and one-handed snags have rightfully drawn all of the attention at the Meadowlands, but there was a time, not too long ago, when Cruz (and not OBJ) was the go-to target for quarterback Eli Manning. That was then, though. The fact of the matter is that Cruz hasn’t taken a snap in two seasons, since tearing the patella tendon in his right knee midway through 2014, and then subsequently pulling his calf during the 2015 preseason. And while plenty of athletes have come back from season-ending injuries like ACL tears in the past, an injury of this nature is historically tough to bounce back from.

We’ve seen plenty of players come back stronger and faster from ACL tears, but the patellar tendon is a whole different beast altogether. Needless to say, it’s near impossible to come back from a patellar tendon tear and regain one’s original form. But you can bet that Cruz is going to do everything in his power to get back on the field in 2016. VC, who has been participating in team workouts had this to say about the current state of his recovery: “I'm excited to continue to train, continue that pattern, and see where it takes me...I feel good. No injuries, no ailments, nothing hurts, no pain.” It’s highly unlikely that Cruz will return to his full potential, but if he finds a way to beat the odds, football fans (especially Giants faithful) are in for a treat in 2016.

Team: Pittsburgh Steelers

Injury: Torn MCL

Le’Veon Bell’s torn MCL in Week 8 of the 2015 NFL season couldn’t have come at a worse time for a young player who had just come off his first 1,000-yard rushing season the year prior. With just two and a half years of pro ball under his belt, Bell has made an immediate impact on the gridiron and has established himself as one of the marquee running backs in the league. Despite the injury setback, Bell has a couple of things working in his favor. First, he just turned 24 years old this year, so his body should be able to make a strong recovery. Second, the Steelers’ recovery plan for Bell is “real conservative,” meaning that the organization will continue to monitor his progress this summer and take its time with his comeback and not just rush him back onto the field for the sake of it. As it stands today, Bell’s spot in the starting lineup for the start of the regular season is questionable. But when he does return, he’ll look to continue to power Pittsburgh’s ground attack.

Team: Baltimore Ravens

Injury: Torn Achilles

There’s no such thing as a sure thing when it comes to injured athletes looking to return to their dominating selves. Terrell Suggs is no exception. In his 13 seasons in the league, Suggs has laid a lot of hits on a lot of players and has subsequently racked up heavy miles on his body. So you’d expect him to start slowing down at this stage in his career, particularly coming off of a torn Achilles that forced him to be sidelined for an entire season. But this is Suggs we’re talking about—the no-nonsense anchor of the Baltimore defense. In the two years prior to his most recent injury, Suggs recorded 22 sacks, so he’s still got a lot to offer if he can come back healthy. Not to mention that he’s bounced back from injury before (2012), so we fully expect him to do so again. After all, football without Terrell Suggs just seems soft.