3 notable QBs returning from season-ending injuries in the 2024 NFL Season
A few notable quarterbacks suffered season-ending injuries during 2023. Let's highlight the most anticipated returns. The 2023 NFL Season was brutal for quarterbacks, as so many starters went down with short-term and long-term injuries, which further cemented the importance of a reliable backup QB in this league.
Ideally, each starter plays a full 17 games, as the league is at its best when the top QBs are healthy and in the lineup, obviously. With teams getting more and more aggressive in trying to build a Super Bowl roster, parity is abundant.
Let's look at the three most notable QBs returning from injury for the 2024 NFL Season.
3 notable QBs returning from season-ending injuries in the 2024 NFL Season
Aaron Rodgers - Torn Achilles
Maybe the most attention-seeking injured player in the history of the NFL, Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles in Week 1 of the 2023 NFL Season and teased a return the entire season. Rodgers is 40-years-old and was surely never going to return, but Rodgers decided to make a production out of it.
If Rodgers can channel some of his 2020 or 2021 MVP form, the New York Jets will be a tough team to deal with, but if he's closer to his 2022 regressed self, the Jets could be in some trouble. Aaron Rodgers and the Jets might again be the most popular team to follow in the 2024 NFL Season.
Kirk Cousins - Torn Achilles
Kirk Cousins played eight games in 2023 before a torn Achilles ended his season. Cousins was on a tear in 2023, as he threw 18 touchdowns against five picks in his eight games. He also added a whopping 291.4 yards per game, and the Vikings were riding a hot-streak before the injury.
Well, he's now with the Atlanta Falcons on a free agent deal, and since he is closer to 40 than 30, you have to wonder if, like Aaron Rodgers, this injury is something that will impact him more due to his age.
Cousins has been an insanely consistent QB, but has never really been elite. Only time will tell if the QB can bounce-back and play his best. If so, the Falcons could be a dangerous team.
Joe Burrow - Torn Scapholunate ligament (wrist)
Joe Burrow has now endured two season-ending injuries in his four-year NFL career, and this latest one was an injury to his throwing wrist, which required surgery. Here is an explainer of the wrist injury he suffered:
"The scapholunate ligament is an intraarticular ligament binding the scaphoid and lunate bones of the wrist together. It is divided into three areas, dorsal, proximal and palmar, with the dorsal segment being the strongest part.[3] It is the main stabilizer of the scaphoid. In contrast to the scapholunate ligament, the lunotriquetral ligament is more prominent on the palmar side."
This doesn't seem like a minor injury by any means, and since it's his throwing hand, this is worth monitoring. When Burrow is healthy, the Cincinnati Bengals are a top team in the NFL, but that's the issue here.