Tyler Higbee's ACL injury has the NFL in a pretzel
The Los Angeles Rams not only lost a playoff game to the Detroit Lions on Sunday night, it's believed that key tight end, Tyler Higbee, also tore his ACL. The injury happened on a low hit as Higbee attempted to make a catch. It was very similar to the hit that led to season-ending ACL […]
The Los Angeles Rams not only lost a playoff game to the Detroit Lions on Sunday night, it's believed that key tight end, Tyler Higbee, also tore his ACL.
The injury happened on a low hit as Higbee attempted to make a catch. It was very similar to the hit that led to season-ending ACL and MCL injuries for Minnesota Vikings star tight end T.J. Hockenson.
It's unclear as to whether or not Hockenson will be ready for the 2024 opener and the same goes for Higbee if his injury is indeed a torn ACL and/or more. And, interesting enough, it was the same Lions player in Kerby Joseph that went low on Hockenson.
The NFL has put itself in a tough spot, here
The reason for the low hits is because of the NFL's efforts to limit concussions and hits to the head. The more and more we understand the ramifications that come from concussions, and CTE, it's completely logical for the league to do whatever it takes to keep that stuff out of the game.
But in doing so, it's created quite the quandary on the field. Do players risk a hit up-top that would result in an automatic first down and 15-yards and a potential fine and ejection? Or, do they go low, make the tackle, and just hope the guy taking the hit gets up fine?
Sunday Night Football color commentator and former NFL player, Chris Collinsworth, said during the broadcast that if you polled 25 players and asked them if they'd rather get hit up high or down low, "all 25" would say they prefer the former. Concussions are way more of a long-term deal (in most cases) than a knee injury. Typically, players can play again within a week of diagnosis. A torn ACL, however, takes several months, even years, to fully bounce back from. And, in some cases, they can ruin a player's career.
But so can concussions. And the most important part of the CTE/concussion issue is that other people's lives can be affected if the person with CTE is married or in a relationship, has kids etc. A torn ACL doesn't cause aggressive/suicidal thoughts, dementia, anxiety, or any of the other mental factors that CTE causes.
The NFL has to continue its push to remove head injuries from the game, but in doing so, it has to realize it's going to cost some star players, and some players in general, dearly. And in a league where offense is king and skill players, outside of quarterbacks, are all the rage, it won't be good from a business standpoint – a big factor that drives a lot of the league's decisions.
The game is too violent and too fast for the NFL to create a "strike zone" for hits. That will only lead to more confusion regarding what constitutes a legal hit and honestly, it'll probably lead to more injuries because players will have to slow up and aim for their landing spot. And we all know that once a player slows down, it can lead to bad things on the field.
It's a tough road to navigate, but it has to be done. The league can't let up when it comes to head injuries and it shouldn't. At the same time, it needs to keep trying to find some kind of way to keep these low hits out of the game without going overboard.
