It only takes one wrong twist to derail a special or budding career, and in the NFL we see it happen far more often than anyone would ever want to see. And, unfortunately, as always, we see great players get taken off on stretchers or limping off to the sidelines, and teams championship hopes get smashed against the rocks, when their stars go down. We will examine and look over the players who were lost and had their season cut short due to injuries and some really bad luck. Which players will bounce back with the best scope – for the team situation they are going to be in.

Minnesota was knocked off track when Dalvin Cook went down in game 4. The RB from Florida State was on his way to running for glory for Minnesota – then hearts dropped and faces went numb when he didn’t get up off the field. Field vision and speed can be hard to replace, Jerick McKinnon and Latavius Murray tried to do their best to make up for his awesome presence, but they ended up being adequate with a 3.9 YPC between them, and Case Keenum and the passing game became their offensive identity. Cook was going to be the guy to sustain the teams hopes during the 2017 regular season. He was drafted for a reason, which was to become the RB for a team that had a running mentality for the last 10 years. Cook had 4.8 YDs/carry avg and had 4 runs of 20+ yards and even threw in 3 receptions/game for good measure in his limited time on the field.

On Indianapolis, Andrew Luck was lost for the whole season with a shoulder injury, but, if there was a player to believe in, it would be the dedicated QB named Andrew Luck. Luck will be returning to a struggling team in Indy with some good offensive receivers set in place.
Do you think other teams worry about them getting Luck back on the field? You better believe they do, getting him back will be huge to this team, the Colts QBs only had 2 games throwing for 300 or more YDs in 2017. Luck has been a revolutionary QB, and with five 300+ games in his last season played in 2016 – his absence was more than just a hiccup for the Colts, as their team went from a usually competitive team over the prior years, to just 4-12 in 2017.

Green Bay losing Aaron Rodgers was a little different as he was taken out vs a rival team in Minnesota. The tackle heard round the world (which was a legal hit, by the way). Green Bay was not able to win games and really even show up, oftentimes vs teams in the division, without him. Rodgers brings the Packers that leadership that was greatly missed – Green Bay will welcome back their beloved pro bowler.
Brett Hundley was asked to do a bit too much at QB (which meant play QB) for the Pack with 12 picks and just 9 TDs – with Rodgers back they see again, why he means so much to this team. Opposing teams tested Hundley time and time again because of his bad decision making and lack of skills, which were proven with his season. Rodgers return – changes the landscape.

Philly felt sheer terror in their hearts when Carson Wentz was lost due to torn ACL. Nick Foles then stepped in and brought grit and great play to the Eagles when Wentz was down for the count. He played huge, with 5 TDs in 7 regular season games, and a 73% passing completion and 6 TDs in the playoffs, as the Eagles ended up as Champions in 2017. Wentz does so much for Philly in terms of playing QB but also in leadership – Wentz is a critical part of what the Eagles expect to have built for their future.

Dalvin Cook  has the talent and the team around him to have great success with great teammates, I expect a 100% comeback from the RB from FSU. He will return to his normal 19 carries/game workload when the season gets plugging along, Cook was on his way to a breakout rookie year, and will stay on track. He’s got great hips in his ability to swing out of breaks and awesome speed. With that he brings another huge level as a scoring threat to Minny, as he is a proven weapon in the open field.

Dalvin Cook should only continue to get better, and he’s got a huge ceiling, with Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, and Kyle Rudolph catching balls, and now with Kirk Cousins tossing the ball around. He is going to a team that was 13-3 last season, this team should be just as good, if not even better. With Dalvin Cook you know what you’re getting, he has confidence in his ability, and so do I. If he returns to his outstanding form when he was tallying 23 YDs receiving and 89 YDs/game – he’ll be in the conversation to be the best RB in the league.

In the end nothing but wishing healthy and successful future for every one of these athletes in the NFL – come back stronger than ever.
Regardless of what eventually happens, or what player makes the difficult trek back to the land of the NFL and stardom, any player coming back from a devastating injury deserves respect and a round of applause.