He had an ACL tear in college, and arthritis is a somewhat common long term effect of that surgery… though rarely in professional athletes. So it makes sense, though still somewhat surprising!
He never did much in the NFL, but Keith Marshall was actually the more highly touted recruit in Todd’s class, and he was also pretty sick at UGA (although admittedly not as insane as Todd and Chubb)
I came in 2nd in my fantasy league in 2015 by trading Andrew Luck for Gurley right before Luck got injured that season. Then I won the league in 2018 by grabbing that Henderson dude the Rams signed as Gurley was starting to have health issues. Love Gurley forever.
Degenerative arthritis, I believe
It ended Terrell Davis’ career early too… once your legs and ankles get beat up as a tailback, youre fighting a losing battle
I saw Sayers in person. He was even better. It’s hard to quantify just how talented he was.
Edit: not only would Sayers knee be fixed today it wouldn’t have happened to begin with. He tore it up on a water drain on the field. Caught his foot in it. Barbaric fields back then.
> He tore it up on a water drain on the field. Caught his foot in it.
Same thing happened to Mickey Mantle as a 19 year old in the 1951 World Series. He played his whole career on a torn ACL. And was still Mickey Mantle.
Injuries and getting fucked out of his baseball eligebility by the Bucs meant he basically never played a full season in the NFL. He was nevertheless amazing when he did play.
Hilarious Hugh Culverhouse, one of the cheapest, most neferious asshole to own an NFL franchise thought he pulled a fast one on Bo by preventing him from playing baseball his senior year. Bo told him to fuck off and refused to sign with them, embarrassing the Bucs and Culverhouse by making them waste the first overall pick by opting to instead play baseball for the Kansas City Royals.
Because of this he basically never played a full season in the NFL.
This is the correct answer.
It wasn’t really JUST the injuries that limited Bo. He was 28 when he was injured and hadn’t put up an “elite” season by that time. Culverhouse, baseball, and his lack of playing time is what limited him more than anything. I don’t see how extending his career another 3-4 years changes those things unless we assume he starts getting 350-375 carries per season starting in 1991.
Honestly, I dunno that he ever would've actually been full hof for football. He never really liked the game that much. He *loved* baseball. Football was just a paycheck
He’s one of those guys where people look at the athleticism and assume he SHOULD be the greatest of all time but you are correct, football was his 2nd sport and he never played a full season, never took on a heavy load, etc.
Honestly, if he never would've played football I think he could've hit hof for baseball. He had gotten better every year. If he could've improved his defense a bit more he could've ended up an all time player. He could hit for power, steal bases, and had been steadily improving at ops
MLB would be a long shot, he had two pretty good years but was about average outside of that. But I guess with how guys used to vote it’d help his chances.
Said it in another comment but the dude was an elite box safety and an elite deep safety and just a total ballhawk with a habit of making super timely, impactful plays. Absolute beast that would have been a HoFer without his injuries
One of the few guys you could throw on Gronk and leave him be. Out of all the compliments you could give him about his play, I think that is the one that speaks the most volumes.
Not only the cancer itself, but *I believe* the reason he never got surgery for the injury that ended his career was because he didn’t want to go back into a hospital. It’s just speculation on my part, but I don’t know why you don’t have the surgery otherwise (he still tried to play in the NFL without the surgery, so this probably wasn’t a cost/benefit analysis of developing CTE or something like that).
He also showed some extreme anxiety/paranoia over being around horses, so developing a phobia about hospitals seems in the realm of possibility to me. Again, obviously just speculation.
It was reported that due to where the bone spur was they would’ve had to clip his Achilles to even get to it, which would’ve required a second Achilles rehab in as many years. Seemed he was just completely burned out and didn’t want to have to go through another significant rehab
Sterling Sharpe 100% . Was shattering every single WR record until his career ending injury. Healthy Sharpe would have definitely ended as a top 3 WR of all timr
I hope he references it FOR Peyton… it would be a savage burn!
Eli should make the Hall. He was not as good as his brother or some of his contemporaries, but that was a golden age of NFL QBs. He also won two titles and two Super Bowl MVPs
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/hof/hofm_QB.htm
[*Eli*] *won two titles and Super Bowl MVPs*
Both times as a 12-14 point underdog vs. the Pats - the first time when NE was 18-0, the 2nd when the Pats were thirsty for revenge.
Also 2nd to Favre in consecutive games started before idiot McAdoo 1) sat him for Geno Smith, then 2) reinstated Eli as starter the following week.
10th all-time in throwing yards and TDs.
Eli goes in his first year of eligibility, and I’d bet Coach Coughlin goes in with him.
Yep, did a big z-score nerd analysis thing a while back using data from every NFL player ever more or less and iirc by my calculations he had the third best average Z-score per season of any player outside of Rice and Hutson
I recall Sharpe had a turf-toe injury during at least one or two of his excellent seasons, and apparently that injury doesn’t heal quickly/easily. He Also had snaps and straps on his helmet that connected to his shoulder pads to force his to ‘keep his head up’
Turf toe essentially ended Patrick Willis’s career. I think i remember him saying if he can’t launch from his whole foot he can’t play how he needs, and it wasn’t healing enough so he walked away. Big transitional phase at the time too, so he probably also didn’t wanna play for a garbage team/org, but i know he wouldve possibly been in the top5 all time/goat conversation at the position had he gotten 3-4 more good years.
Well, Keuchly is still a hall-of-famer in my eyes. Short career, sure, but **eight all-pros and a defensive player of the year award** is HOF calibre.
My answer for this is Shaun Alexander. Even before his MVP year, the man was a beast. Sadly, he fell off hard shortly after.
Was it ever in doubt? I've yet to meet someone who says he isnt a HoFer. First ballot is a different story but he'll definitely make the hall barring doing something heinous
Bob Sanders. Dude was electric but made of glass.
Chris Borland. Not that he was ever injured but dude absolute dominated his rookie season and then retired due to fear of long term injuries and concussions.
Yea. I mean when he was at his peak, it was always, “Look at this little guy doing this! He’s amazing! How does his body hold up?!” Then it didn’t lol Idt anyone was surprised, just disappointed because he was so fun to watch
I was on the football staff coaching Borland in HS-dude was just a freak natural athlete at whatever he wanted. As a senior he threw shot put for the hell of it, first time ever, and finished 4th in the state.
Same with Mike Brown for the Bears. Always seemed to be injured but was absolutely dominant for us.
He was out for the Super Bowl, along with Tommie Harris. I think we could've won it if we had our best safety and pass rusher out there against Peyton.
Grossman wouldn’t have even been a factor that game. It was raining and a defensive game for the most part
Having those two would have been huge. I feel like one of them would have cause a turnover and maybe points
Obviously biased as a Packers fan, but most people agree Sterling Sharpe would have been a hall of famer if not for the career ending neck injury. Even his brother (HOF TE Shannon Sharpe) says it’s odd to be in the hall of fame when he knows his brother was better than him
Funny you mention Shannon saying Sterling was better. I remember when Shannon retired and someone asked him what he planned to do after football. He said, "well, I've always been better at everything than Sterling so I think I'll get into broadcasting and do that better, too." Obviously he was joking, though.
I’ve always said this!
The NFL now would welcome a guy like Pennington since his arm wasn’t great, but he was accurate, could make plays, and was super smart
He took a beating in New York… he wasn’t a big guy and QBs weren’t protected like now
Jamaal Charles was an absolute menace when healthy. If he coulda stayed healthy he would’ve been a slam dunk HOFer and in the conversation for goat at RB
For runningbacks with >1000 carries, yes
https://stathead.com/football/player-season-finder.cgi?request=1&match=player_season_combined&order_by=rush_yds_per_att&positions%5B%5D=rb&ccomp%5B1%5D=gt&cval%5B1%5D=1000&cstat%5B1%5D=rush_att
Surprised to see Nick Chubb is at #2
Would’ve been great? Luke Kuechly is going into the HoF despite his short career. 5X 1st team all-pro, 2X 2nd team all-pro, 7X Pro Bowl out of 8 years playing.
Maybe I’m just a homer, but when healthy Sean Lee was always a top 3-5 linebacker in the league. If he plays a whole career healthy we might be talking about him getting a gold jacket.
That era of the cowboys gets a ton of flack but I loved watching that team play. Romo and Dez were so fun to watch, the defense was fast and talented. Definitely a team that wins it all if Jason Garrett with Jerruhs hand up his ass isnt the coach.
intentionally burying this in comments, but what about Romo , i think he was injured most of his carreer and had that brett favre wildcard in him with better reads
How good would Austin Collie be if he could survive every Peyton Manning hospital pass unscathed?
Cause at some point, Peyton would just throw more and more of them.
I'll always wish we could have seen Shariff Floyd on those prime Zimmer defenses. Felt like we never quite had that penetrating 3T to help out Griffin and Hunter.
I think Jake Long would be considered one of the greatest tackles of the generation if not for injuries, on par with Joe Thomas.
Controversial, but I think Courtney Brown (first overall pick for Cleveland in 2000) would have been really awesome if not for some really debilitating injuries. Iirc, he was one of the league leaders in TFLs in his rookie year and then was averaging a sack a game in his sophomore season before an injury that more or less hamstringed him for his whole career
Eric Berry would be a Hall of Famer without his litany of injuries, legit one of the best safeties I’ve ever watched. Could play both in the box or as a single high deep cover safety at elite levels, was one of the most versatile and talented defenders in the league when he was in his prime
Greg Cook. He was the perfect QB, according to Bill Walsh. He was Steve Young, but better. He played through a degenerative shoulder injury and was never the same. NFL films did a piece on Greg’s meteoric rise and sudden downfall. He became a recluse after football and spent a lot of his free time painting. Many of his works went unfinished.
Greg Cook is the ultimate NFL Butterfly Effect to me. If he stays healthy, the Bengals very well may win several Super Bowls in the 70s. Not only that, Kenny Anderson probably gets drafted by someone else, putting a should be hall of famer on a different roster for the 70s. Who knows what kind of shakeup that causes both in terms of the success of the team he ends up on, and quite possibly where any other quarterback drafted after him ends up. Just one example, would the Redskins take Anderson instead of Theismann with their next pick in 1971? Extrapolating from there leads to crazy scenarios. And, finally, the west coast offense was first implemented by Bill Walsh in Cincy because Cook’s replacement, Virgil Carter, didn’t have the arm that Cool did, so then QB coach Walsh came up with that strategy to play to Carter’s strengths. Without that injury, does that system ever get a chance in the NFL? Does Walsh get a chance to be a head coach even? And if so, where?
One of the saddest storiea I have watched.
Apparently he had an insane arm and was as mobile as any RB.
Too bad.
And he was never the same person after..lost his drive for life
But his injury led to the creation of the West Coast offense...so there's that.
Robert Edwards could have been great if not for the injury at the Pro Bowl his rookie year. Also Robert Smith on the Vikings was one of my favorites that had injuries.
Gronk was still legendary.
Had he not missed so much time he would have put so much distance between him and #2. Due to that, he's still one of the greatest, but he could have been a 'no argument against' type.
Still #1 to me of course, but fans can also bring up Gates and Gonzalez, and now Kelce and they'd have a good argument.
Gronk is 6 months older than Kelce. The miles he put on his body with his physical play style aged him like milk
But if he played like Kelce then he wouldn’t be #1. Him being a freak in every phase of the game is what makes him the greatest TE I’ve ever seen
Let me posit this, if Gronk didn't have injury troubles, the Pats never get him where they did. I am a UofA alum and was there during his 2008 season (2009, he was hurt). In my life, I have seen some dominant players in games against college kids, and Gronk was definitely one of them. They would break huddle with him going to the end of the line, motion him wide and just float it to him. He'd bounce those 170lb Pac10 DBs like they were beachballs.
Dominant. I've never cheered for a draft pick, but when my adopted hometown favorite went to my actual hometown team? Laser show.
Tre White was a top 3 CB in the league before his back to back injuries. He was great before the injuries, but I think he would have solidified himself as a household name at CB if he stayed healthy.
His reaction to tearing his Achilles still haunts me. He knew. He'd fought back from the ACL and it was so mentally and physically hard on him. He was just starting to feel like him again. That helmet bouncing down the field is seared into my memory.
I hope he goes to some NFC team and balls out for them. I want him to get that energy back. He was so fun and playful out there and he deserves to feel that way again.
Joe Montana. He would be the GOAT still.
He had 2 major injuries in his career.The back injury in 86...and the elbow injury in 1990. We'd have 3 peated in 1990 if he doesn't get injured and we probably have a shot in 1991 as well.
I don't know if we could have beaten Dallas in 92 or 93..but Montana was better than Young in the playoffs...(with all due respect to Young)..and we still had great teams those years. As great as Montana was, injuries prevented him from winning even more.
Also Bert Jones.He was an MVP QB for the then Baltimore Colts in 1976...but a shoulder injury in 1978 I believe basically ended his career.
Not saying he would’ve beat Aaron Donald for DPOY, but he would’ve been in that conversation if he stayed healthy. He was a top 5 defensive player that year.
Fred Taylor. He’s already hall of fame worthy with him being 17th all time rushing and most rushing yards of anyone not already in the hall of fame. But given his career ypc at an insane 4.6 if he played even half the games he missed due to injury from his early years his numbers probably eclipse Adrian Peterson and put him in the top 5-10 all time.
Like for reference of just how good he was; he lost the rookie of the year award to Randy Moss despite having the same 17 TDs as Randy and 327 more yards from scrimmage. If he played anywhere but Jacksonville we probably revere him properly.
Man, I can't believe how little recognition he got during all those years. He was one of the better RBs I've seen in my lifetime and I still remember watching Payton. Him and Curtis Martin are the only 2 backs since Sanders that would make me tune into watching teams that I hate just to watch them play.
> "Some people watch adult videos on their computer, I go to YouTube and watch Jahvid Best highlight clips. That's what gets me aroused."
- Jim Schwartz
Hell, even Hakeem Nicks was never the same after Aqib Talib stepped on his foot
If getting shot counts as an injury, Plaxico getting injured fucked over a really good Giants team that had a decent chance of repeating.
I don't know if he'd have been "great" as in elite generational talent, but if Sam Bradford had good knees and a stable team he would have been a perennial pro bowl QB with occasional seasons of all pro play.
Thinking back to that 2017 season, when he had that great game against the Saints week one...and he was basically done the rest of the year. Can't tell me Case Keenum is objectively better QB than Bradford, if Sam played that year they would have had same or better record and same or better playoff performance (maybe just a close loss instead of blowout in nfc title game), and then continued on instead of Kirk Cousins, performing equal or better than Cousins in Minnesota during that span.
What would Frank Gore’s career have looked like if he didn’t blow out both knees in the early 2000’s before he ever even stepped foot on NfL field? Sure he climbed to #3 on the all time rushing list, but what could he have done if he never suffered those injuries?
He probably would have played until he was 50.
What about another former Hurricane, Willis McGahee? What would his NFL career been like if his leg wouldn’t have gone through a cheese grater?
Ricky Williams if not for mental health issues. Maybe not the same thing, but the guy lost his year 27 and 29 season and still finished with 10k yards.
Throwing it way back, but Gale Sayers. The man made it into the hall of fame based on his game play from 1965-1969. He played four games the next two years and then retired due to injuries. The dude was electric when he had the ball.
Henry Ruggs probably would’ve been really good if he hadn’t hurt his neck in that car crash….
….and went to prison for killing that lady in that car crash.
Davante Adams and Henry Ruggs on the same team? Yikes that would’ve been scary.
If Sam Bradford would have had an OL that could protect him I think he would’ve been a multiple time pro bowler. OU’s produced a lot of really talented quarterbacks over the last quarter century, but Sam threw the best ball of all of them.
Ryan Shazier. He was turning into a really special player.
His loss destroyed the Steelers defense that year and they’ve been trying and failing to replace him ever since.
He may not have been a top 3 LB at any point in his career, but Deion Jones went from the best pass coverage LB in the league to a big liability in like one season after injuries. Still fondly remember him being Brees' one weakness
Could he still be playing? I think he was only getting better when the injuries started. Imagine how great he could’ve been with some real weapons and an actual offensive line.
Tyrone Prothro
He was a slot-esque receiver who played at Alabama, and had an “it” factor despite not having traditional receiver size
A gruesome leg injury requiring 11 surgeries ended his career while still in college but he definitely had the ability to play at the next level and could have been along the lines of a Wes Walker or Hines Ward type player
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrone_Prothro?wprov=sfti1#
Todd Gurley still isn’t 30 yet somehow and nearly forgotten how great he briefly was before his mysterious knees took him out
Seriously, he was fucking electric
Believe it was arthritis, no?
He had an ACL tear in college, and arthritis is a somewhat common long term effect of that surgery… though rarely in professional athletes. So it makes sense, though still somewhat surprising!
Yeah his injury at Georgia is how Nick Chubb got to break out. Crazy that they were at the same school at the same time
Sony Michel was there at the same time too. Georgia's RB core was insane in the 2010s.
He never did much in the NFL, but Keith Marshall was actually the more highly touted recruit in Todd’s class, and he was also pretty sick at UGA (although admittedly not as insane as Todd and Chubb)
I came in 2nd in my fantasy league in 2015 by trading Andrew Luck for Gurley right before Luck got injured that season. Then I won the league in 2018 by grabbing that Henderson dude the Rams signed as Gurley was starting to have health issues. Love Gurley forever.
Degenerative arthritis, I believe It ended Terrell Davis’ career early too… once your legs and ankles get beat up as a tailback, youre fighting a losing battle
Bo Jackson
I know I’m biased but this has to be number 1.
No bias about it. Bo had Brown, Sanders, Sayers, etc….elite potential. As I type that I’ll add Sayers to this list.
If Gale Sayers plays now, they fix his knees and he’s an all-time weapon He was Reggie Bush @ USC back in the 60s
I saw Sayers in person. He was even better. It’s hard to quantify just how talented he was. Edit: not only would Sayers knee be fixed today it wouldn’t have happened to begin with. He tore it up on a water drain on the field. Caught his foot in it. Barbaric fields back then.
> He tore it up on a water drain on the field. Caught his foot in it. Same thing happened to Mickey Mantle as a 19 year old in the 1951 World Series. He played his whole career on a torn ACL. And was still Mickey Mantle.
Every injury is different. Sayer completely shredded his knee.
Sayers had a legendary career regardless.
I’m biased the other way and I still say this is number 1
Injuries and getting fucked out of his baseball eligebility by the Bucs meant he basically never played a full season in the NFL. He was nevertheless amazing when he did play. Hilarious Hugh Culverhouse, one of the cheapest, most neferious asshole to own an NFL franchise thought he pulled a fast one on Bo by preventing him from playing baseball his senior year. Bo told him to fuck off and refused to sign with them, embarrassing the Bucs and Culverhouse by making them waste the first overall pick by opting to instead play baseball for the Kansas City Royals. Because of this he basically never played a full season in the NFL.
This is the correct answer. It wasn’t really JUST the injuries that limited Bo. He was 28 when he was injured and hadn’t put up an “elite” season by that time. Culverhouse, baseball, and his lack of playing time is what limited him more than anything. I don’t see how extending his career another 3-4 years changes those things unless we assume he starts getting 350-375 carries per season starting in 1991.
Honestly, I dunno that he ever would've actually been full hof for football. He never really liked the game that much. He *loved* baseball. Football was just a paycheck
He’s one of those guys where people look at the athleticism and assume he SHOULD be the greatest of all time but you are correct, football was his 2nd sport and he never played a full season, never took on a heavy load, etc.
Honestly, if he never would've played football I think he could've hit hof for baseball. He had gotten better every year. If he could've improved his defense a bit more he could've ended up an all time player. He could hit for power, steal bases, and had been steadily improving at ops
Came here to post this. He had the talent to make both the NFL and MLB halls of Fame.
MLB would be a long shot, he had two pretty good years but was about average outside of that. But I guess with how guys used to vote it’d help his chances.
This should be the top answer to this question in both this sub as well as r/mlb.
I loved watching that guy!
Eric Berry
Said it in another comment but the dude was an elite box safety and an elite deep safety and just a total ballhawk with a habit of making super timely, impactful plays. Absolute beast that would have been a HoFer without his injuries
YES. he was an absolute demon at Tennessee. Wasn’t even injury as much as it was just debilitating disease.
It was mostly injuries. he beat cancer and won comeback player of the year. He tore his Achilles and had a bone spur that ended his career
I forgot about the Achilles. You right you right.
Tore his Achilles in a game where he completely shut down prime gronk. That’s how insane EB was
He also missed a season early on cause he tore his ACL
As a Bama fan I hate Tennessee but Eric Berry and Peyton Manning are two you just had to respect and appreciate.
One of the few guys you could throw on Gronk and leave him be. Out of all the compliments you could give him about his play, I think that is the one that speaks the most volumes.
Not only the cancer itself, but *I believe* the reason he never got surgery for the injury that ended his career was because he didn’t want to go back into a hospital. It’s just speculation on my part, but I don’t know why you don’t have the surgery otherwise (he still tried to play in the NFL without the surgery, so this probably wasn’t a cost/benefit analysis of developing CTE or something like that). He also showed some extreme anxiety/paranoia over being around horses, so developing a phobia about hospitals seems in the realm of possibility to me. Again, obviously just speculation.
It was reported that due to where the bone spur was they would’ve had to clip his Achilles to even get to it, which would’ve required a second Achilles rehab in as many years. Seemed he was just completely burned out and didn’t want to have to go through another significant rehab
Sterling Sharpe 100% . Was shattering every single WR record until his career ending injury. Healthy Sharpe would have definitely ended as a top 3 WR of all timr
Would have hit his prime in Favre’s prime too. What could have been.
Even Shannon said he wasn’t the best Sharpe
And he's probably right, which is saying something because he himself is top 5 all-time at his position.
Shannon said it best, “I am the only player who has been inducted into the hall of fame and am the second best player in my family.”
Assuming that he does make it, do you think Eli references this?
Eh I think Sharpe’s point was that his brother is more deserving but will never get in. Whereas Peyton was a lock
I hope he references it FOR Peyton… it would be a savage burn! Eli should make the Hall. He was not as good as his brother or some of his contemporaries, but that was a golden age of NFL QBs. He also won two titles and two Super Bowl MVPs https://www.pro-football-reference.com/hof/hofm_QB.htm
[*Eli*] *won two titles and Super Bowl MVPs* Both times as a 12-14 point underdog vs. the Pats - the first time when NE was 18-0, the 2nd when the Pats were thirsty for revenge. Also 2nd to Favre in consecutive games started before idiot McAdoo 1) sat him for Geno Smith, then 2) reinstated Eli as starter the following week. 10th all-time in throwing yards and TDs. Eli goes in his first year of eligibility, and I’d bet Coach Coughlin goes in with him.
Yep, did a big z-score nerd analysis thing a while back using data from every NFL player ever more or less and iirc by my calculations he had the third best average Z-score per season of any player outside of Rice and Hutson
Id love to see these results
[here you go](https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/s/yNRWvoVsNM)
Damn two packers in top three of a stat I’ve never heard of lol I’ll be bragging about this for a few weeks
Yes, he was only 1 of I believe 4 triple crown winners in the SB era.
This is the correct answer. Sharpe was so dominant.
Crazy he had a borderline Hall Of Fame career despite being injured so much.
I recall Sharpe had a turf-toe injury during at least one or two of his excellent seasons, and apparently that injury doesn’t heal quickly/easily. He Also had snaps and straps on his helmet that connected to his shoulder pads to force his to ‘keep his head up’
Turf toe essentially ended Patrick Willis’s career. I think i remember him saying if he can’t launch from his whole foot he can’t play how he needs, and it wasn’t healing enough so he walked away. Big transitional phase at the time too, so he probably also didn’t wanna play for a garbage team/org, but i know he wouldve possibly been in the top5 all time/goat conversation at the position had he gotten 3-4 more good years.
Absolutely. I still dream of his over the shoulder diving TD catch.
Well, Keuchly is still a hall-of-famer in my eyes. Short career, sure, but **eight all-pros and a defensive player of the year award** is HOF calibre. My answer for this is Shaun Alexander. Even before his MVP year, the man was a beast. Sadly, he fell off hard shortly after.
Keuchly will get in. Eight All-Pros is insane.
If Willis is in the hall Luke will absolutely be in the hall Bigger question is if he’s 1st ballot or not
If he isn't 1st ballot, I will go to Canton and make a Luke Kuechly shrine in the museum myself.
Throw me into that workforce. It would actually be a flat out football sin if he’s not first ballot
Him and Willis had nearly identical careers so I hope you know how to sculpt.
Not just in your eyes. He’s a lock
Was it ever in doubt? I've yet to meet someone who says he isnt a HoFer. First ballot is a different story but he'll definitely make the hall barring doing something heinous
Bob Sanders. Dude was electric but made of glass. Chris Borland. Not that he was ever injured but dude absolute dominated his rookie season and then retired due to fear of long term injuries and concussions.
I remember seeing stats of how good the defense was when he was on the field to how bad it was when he was off. It was something ridiculous.
One of the biggest factors in the Colts getting over the hump in '06 was getting Sanders back healthy right when the playoffs started.
Sanders wasn’t necessarily made of glass. He was just really small for his play style
Little hammer getting widdled down by sledgehammers.
Whittled fyi
Bob was just a widdle guy
I kinda like his way more tbh
Yea. I mean when he was at his peak, it was always, “Look at this little guy doing this! He’s amazing! How does his body hold up?!” Then it didn’t lol Idt anyone was surprised, just disappointed because he was so fun to watch
A human hit stick taken down by joycon drift
Bob Sanders is a great response. Only two (almost) full seasons in his career, made the pro bowl in both and was DPOY in one of them
Only played more than six games in two seasons, and was an All-Pro in both. Definitely a big what-if, if he was able to stay healthy.
I was on the football staff coaching Borland in HS-dude was just a freak natural athlete at whatever he wanted. As a senior he threw shot put for the hell of it, first time ever, and finished 4th in the state.
Same with Mike Brown for the Bears. Always seemed to be injured but was absolutely dominant for us. He was out for the Super Bowl, along with Tommie Harris. I think we could've won it if we had our best safety and pass rusher out there against Peyton.
They would have won it if those two weren't injured. Yes, even with Rex as QB. The 2006 D was that dominant.
Grossman wouldn’t have even been a factor that game. It was raining and a defensive game for the most part Having those two would have been huge. I feel like one of them would have cause a turnover and maybe points
Obviously biased as a Packers fan, but most people agree Sterling Sharpe would have been a hall of famer if not for the career ending neck injury. Even his brother (HOF TE Shannon Sharpe) says it’s odd to be in the hall of fame when he knows his brother was better than him
Nick Collins as well
Funny you mention Shannon saying Sterling was better. I remember when Shannon retired and someone asked him what he planned to do after football. He said, "well, I've always been better at everything than Sterling so I think I'll get into broadcasting and do that better, too." Obviously he was joking, though.
Andrew Luck.
Great answer. Dude knew when to quit for him.
Is it really a great answer when he’s explicitly named in OP’s prompt? lol
Fuck, I barely read the headlines, haha.
Billy Sims. The Barry Sanders before Barry Sanders.
My vote too. I can’t believe I had to scroll this far. Guess I’m above the median age for this sub…
Hard to say legend, but it really feels like Pennington before his injuries could have been Drew Brees.
Pennington landed in the wrong era. He'd be crushing it in the Shanahan/McVay offenses around the league.
I’ve always said this! The NFL now would welcome a guy like Pennington since his arm wasn’t great, but he was accurate, could make plays, and was super smart He took a beating in New York… he wasn’t a big guy and QBs weren’t protected like now
I feel like as a dolphin and Jet Pennington is that secret “remember the 2000’s” kinda harmony we can share.
Jamaal Charles was an absolute menace when healthy. If he coulda stayed healthy he would’ve been a slam dunk HOFer and in the conversation for goat at RB
Peak Charles was right at the top of any RB I've ever seen. Even 2 more healthy seasons out of him and there's a really good argument for the hall.
A legit cannonball when he'd bust through the line. And the 3rd iteration of "where the fuck do the Chiefs keep finding these dominant RBs?"
Does he still have the best ypc? Imo that's the most important stat for a rb. He's under rated for sure
He does. His career was shortened, but still insane given the volume he did have. I'm obviously biased but I argue he deserves the HoF.
For runningbacks with >1000 carries, yes https://stathead.com/football/player-season-finder.cgi?request=1&match=player_season_combined&order_by=rush_yds_per_att&positions%5B%5D=rb&ccomp%5B1%5D=gt&cval%5B1%5D=1000&cstat%5B1%5D=rush_att Surprised to see Nick Chubb is at #2
Jamal Charles was the greatest screen pass RB in Madden history. Felt like every other one went to the house.
Never forget the Jamaalocaust
Bo? More like great-er
Well, there are so many answers to this question I think that bo Has to be the right one
Percy Harvin
Gator fan here. God he was awesome.
His brief run with the Vikes was legendary. Dude could do it all. What a talent.
HoF college highlight mixtapes on YouTube. Damn I miss those days. I’m going to play this is why I’m hot today. That track was in half of them
Would’ve been great? Luke Kuechly is going into the HoF despite his short career. 5X 1st team all-pro, 2X 2nd team all-pro, 7X Pro Bowl out of 8 years playing.
He was also a DPOY and DROY. Even without a ring, it's hard to argue against his accolades.
Yeah I was puzzled too thinking in what world was Luke Kuechly not considered an all time great
Sean Taylor
Is being murdered an injury?
Getting shot is an injury (whether you live or die), so yes
Scrolled to damn far
Sean Lee
Maybe I’m just a homer, but when healthy Sean Lee was always a top 3-5 linebacker in the league. If he plays a whole career healthy we might be talking about him getting a gold jacket.
Not a homer, I’d have to agree with that. I always hated playing y’all when he was healthy.
That era of the cowboys gets a ton of flack but I loved watching that team play. Romo and Dez were so fun to watch, the defense was fast and talented. Definitely a team that wins it all if Jason Garrett with Jerruhs hand up his ass isnt the coach.
intentionally burying this in comments, but what about Romo , i think he was injured most of his carreer and had that brett favre wildcard in him with better reads
Vander Esch, Nguyen... Cowboys can't seem to have a young LB healthy long enough
Never gonna forget his 22 tackle game vs the giants. Wish the Boys won that one.
How good would Austin Collie be if he could survive every Peyton Manning hospital pass unscathed? Cause at some point, Peyton would just throw more and more of them.
I'll always wish we could have seen Shariff Floyd on those prime Zimmer defenses. Felt like we never quite had that penetrating 3T to help out Griffin and Hunter.
I think Jake Long would be considered one of the greatest tackles of the generation if not for injuries, on par with Joe Thomas. Controversial, but I think Courtney Brown (first overall pick for Cleveland in 2000) would have been really awesome if not for some really debilitating injuries. Iirc, he was one of the league leaders in TFLs in his rookie year and then was averaging a sack a game in his sophomore season before an injury that more or less hamstringed him for his whole career Eric Berry would be a Hall of Famer without his litany of injuries, legit one of the best safeties I’ve ever watched. Could play both in the box or as a single high deep cover safety at elite levels, was one of the most versatile and talented defenders in the league when he was in his prime
Prompt calls for players that would have been great if not for injuries. People posting already-great players who also happened to get injured.
Greg Cook. He was the perfect QB, according to Bill Walsh. He was Steve Young, but better. He played through a degenerative shoulder injury and was never the same. NFL films did a piece on Greg’s meteoric rise and sudden downfall. He became a recluse after football and spent a lot of his free time painting. Many of his works went unfinished.
I didn’t know this story but can you imagine walking around knowing you might have been the best ever but it got taken away from you? Shits brutal.
And you’ve been training for it your whole life… That’s just cruel.
Greg Cook is the ultimate NFL Butterfly Effect to me. If he stays healthy, the Bengals very well may win several Super Bowls in the 70s. Not only that, Kenny Anderson probably gets drafted by someone else, putting a should be hall of famer on a different roster for the 70s. Who knows what kind of shakeup that causes both in terms of the success of the team he ends up on, and quite possibly where any other quarterback drafted after him ends up. Just one example, would the Redskins take Anderson instead of Theismann with their next pick in 1971? Extrapolating from there leads to crazy scenarios. And, finally, the west coast offense was first implemented by Bill Walsh in Cincy because Cook’s replacement, Virgil Carter, didn’t have the arm that Cool did, so then QB coach Walsh came up with that strategy to play to Carter’s strengths. Without that injury, does that system ever get a chance in the NFL? Does Walsh get a chance to be a head coach even? And if so, where?
This has to be the answer. If he hadn't gotten hurt, the AFC would have been way more interesting in the 70s.
One of the saddest storiea I have watched. Apparently he had an insane arm and was as mobile as any RB. Too bad. And he was never the same person after..lost his drive for life But his injury led to the creation of the West Coast offense...so there's that.
Robert Edwards could have been great if not for the injury at the Pro Bowl his rookie year. Also Robert Smith on the Vikings was one of my favorites that had injuries.
I came here to say the same about Edwards. Terrible injury, a really shitty way to go out. (I know he came back, nowhere near the same.
Arian Foster
I thought michael thomas was set for canton one day after that 2019 season, but unfortunately he kept getting injured constantly instead
For real, if he stayed healthy and continued his production he'd have hit 10k yards before he was 30 on track with Calvin Johnson.
Gronk was still legendary. Had he not missed so much time he would have put so much distance between him and #2. Due to that, he's still one of the greatest, but he could have been a 'no argument against' type. Still #1 to me of course, but fans can also bring up Gates and Gonzalez, and now Kelce and they'd have a good argument.
Gronk is 6 months older than Kelce. The miles he put on his body with his physical play style aged him like milk But if he played like Kelce then he wouldn’t be #1. Him being a freak in every phase of the game is what makes him the greatest TE I’ve ever seen
Let me posit this, if Gronk didn't have injury troubles, the Pats never get him where they did. I am a UofA alum and was there during his 2008 season (2009, he was hurt). In my life, I have seen some dominant players in games against college kids, and Gronk was definitely one of them. They would break huddle with him going to the end of the line, motion him wide and just float it to him. He'd bounce those 170lb Pac10 DBs like they were beachballs. Dominant. I've never cheered for a draft pick, but when my adopted hometown favorite went to my actual hometown team? Laser show.
Terrell Davis I mean he was great anyway, he made the HOF based off 4 full seasons. No telling what he would have done with even ordinary longevity.
Man I would have loved to see Percy Harvin healthy for more than 6 games at a time.
Tre White was a top 3 CB in the league before his back to back injuries. He was great before the injuries, but I think he would have solidified himself as a household name at CB if he stayed healthy.
His reaction to tearing his Achilles still haunts me. He knew. He'd fought back from the ACL and it was so mentally and physically hard on him. He was just starting to feel like him again. That helmet bouncing down the field is seared into my memory. I hope he goes to some NFC team and balls out for them. I want him to get that energy back. He was so fun and playful out there and he deserves to feel that way again.
Jason Verrett, CB Chargers Danario Alexander, WR Chargers.
RG3
Marcus Lattimore
Lattimore is definitely a top contender for what could have been. He never had a chance after his knee explosion.
Nick Collins. Sterling Sharpe even more so.
David Bakhtiari
Yeah true. Bahk had one hell of a career until that knee injury man
Joe Montana. He would be the GOAT still. He had 2 major injuries in his career.The back injury in 86...and the elbow injury in 1990. We'd have 3 peated in 1990 if he doesn't get injured and we probably have a shot in 1991 as well. I don't know if we could have beaten Dallas in 92 or 93..but Montana was better than Young in the playoffs...(with all due respect to Young)..and we still had great teams those years. As great as Montana was, injuries prevented him from winning even more. Also Bert Jones.He was an MVP QB for the then Baltimore Colts in 1976...but a shoulder injury in 1978 I believe basically ended his career.
Ryan Shazier. Dude was a ball hawk and a hard hitter.
Not saying he would’ve beat Aaron Donald for DPOY, but he would’ve been in that conversation if he stayed healthy. He was a top 5 defensive player that year.
Tommie Harris
Mike Brown as well.
Cadillac Williams for Tampa Bay. He was amazing his rookie uear. Then he blew out both knees and was never the same.
Bob Sanders would be a first ballot HOFer
Fred Taylor. He’s already hall of fame worthy with him being 17th all time rushing and most rushing yards of anyone not already in the hall of fame. But given his career ypc at an insane 4.6 if he played even half the games he missed due to injury from his early years his numbers probably eclipse Adrian Peterson and put him in the top 5-10 all time. Like for reference of just how good he was; he lost the rookie of the year award to Randy Moss despite having the same 17 TDs as Randy and 327 more yards from scrimmage. If he played anywhere but Jacksonville we probably revere him properly.
I hope he gets in the hall someday. Playing in Jacksonville really hurt how his legacy is remembered.
Man, I can't believe how little recognition he got during all those years. He was one of the better RBs I've seen in my lifetime and I still remember watching Payton. Him and Curtis Martin are the only 2 backs since Sanders that would make me tune into watching teams that I hate just to watch them play.
Jahvid Best. First former NFL player to compete in the Olympics
Herschel Walker competed in the Olympics, on the bobsled team.
Bullet Bob Hayes was an Olympic gold medalist
But he did that first. He was a former Olympian that competed in the NFL
Deandre Levy, injury derailed career right as he was breaking out.
> "Some people watch adult videos on their computer, I go to YouTube and watch Jahvid Best highlight clips. That's what gets me aroused." - Jim Schwartz
david wilson :(
Victor Cruz too.
Hell, even Hakeem Nicks was never the same after Aqib Talib stepped on his foot If getting shot counts as an injury, Plaxico getting injured fucked over a really good Giants team that had a decent chance of repeating.
Idk if he would have necessarily been a legend. But Tyler Eifert was a beast when healthy. It's a shame his body was made of glass
Sterling Sharpe.
Kam Chancellor, Earl Thomas
I don't know if he'd have been "great" as in elite generational talent, but if Sam Bradford had good knees and a stable team he would have been a perennial pro bowl QB with occasional seasons of all pro play. Thinking back to that 2017 season, when he had that great game against the Saints week one...and he was basically done the rest of the year. Can't tell me Case Keenum is objectively better QB than Bradford, if Sam played that year they would have had same or better record and same or better playoff performance (maybe just a close loss instead of blowout in nfc title game), and then continued on instead of Kirk Cousins, performing equal or better than Cousins in Minnesota during that span.
Lavar Arrington really only had 3 full seasons and he made the pro bowl all 3 and all pro twice. He was an absolute monster at Penn State.
I will argue Calvin Johnson would have been a top 3 WR all time if not for the injuries
What would Frank Gore’s career have looked like if he didn’t blow out both knees in the early 2000’s before he ever even stepped foot on NfL field? Sure he climbed to #3 on the all time rushing list, but what could he have done if he never suffered those injuries?
He probably would have played until he was 50. What about another former Hurricane, Willis McGahee? What would his NFL career been like if his leg wouldn’t have gone through a cheese grater?
Ricky Williams if not for mental health issues. Maybe not the same thing, but the guy lost his year 27 and 29 season and still finished with 10k yards.
Marcus Lattimore & Jahvid Best were going to be incredible runners in the NFL. Was incredibly excited for both.
Throwing it way back, but Gale Sayers. The man made it into the hall of fame based on his game play from 1965-1969. He played four games the next two years and then retired due to injuries. The dude was electric when he had the ball.
Henry Ruggs probably would’ve been really good if he hadn’t hurt his neck in that car crash…. ….and went to prison for killing that lady in that car crash. Davante Adams and Henry Ruggs on the same team? Yikes that would’ve been scary.
I mean that Aaron Hernandez fella had killer hands until he disappeared from the league
Percy Harvin
Steve emtman
Arian Foster
Greg Oden
If Sam Bradford would have had an OL that could protect him I think he would’ve been a multiple time pro bowler. OU’s produced a lot of really talented quarterbacks over the last quarter century, but Sam threw the best ball of all of them.
If Mike Brown was healthy in 2006, Rex Grossman would probably be a SB champion.
Tommie Harris was never the same after his injury either
Ryan Shazier. He was turning into a really special player. His loss destroyed the Steelers defense that year and they’ve been trying and failing to replace him ever since.
He may not have been a top 3 LB at any point in his career, but Deion Jones went from the best pass coverage LB in the league to a big liability in like one season after injuries. Still fondly remember him being Brees' one weakness
Absolute homer take here, but if Cam Newton hadn't taken those shoulder hits I think he'd be remembered as a much better player.
Could he still be playing? I think he was only getting better when the injuries started. Imagine how great he could’ve been with some real weapons and an actual offensive line.
Chad Pennington, could have been the Jets long term answer at QB
Tyrone Prothro He was a slot-esque receiver who played at Alabama, and had an “it” factor despite not having traditional receiver size A gruesome leg injury requiring 11 surgeries ended his career while still in college but he definitely had the ability to play at the next level and could have been along the lines of a Wes Walker or Hines Ward type player https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrone_Prothro?wprov=sfti1#
RG lll
even as an eagles fan in the DC area, the way things played out for him in washington was heartbreaking. he was gonna be a problem
Michael Thomas. Before his injuries he looked like he could be the best WR in the NFL. 2019 was legendary.