It wasn’t as bad as Week 4 but Week 5 saw plenty of names go down – especially among the Green Bay Packers. Let’s see who got hurt and how the NFL betting landscape may be affected.
Note: since they either returned to their respective games after their injuries or simply stayed out because of a lopsided score, we can skip Calvin Johnson, Arian Foster, DeSean Jackson and Dez Bryant.
Aaron Rodgers, Packers: CONCUSSION
With all the big hits Rodgers has taken behind his often shaky offensive line over the last few seasons, it was only a matter of time before he got hurt. During the Green Bay’s overtime loss to Washington, he suffered a concussion. It’s too early to tell how much time he’ll miss, as concussions are so unpredictable, but the betting implications for the Pack would be disastrous if he’s out.
Bruce Gradkowski, Raiders: SHOULDER
Gradkowski bruised his throwing shoulder against the Chargers and couldn’t finish the game yesterday. After Jason Campbell led the Raiders to victory in relief, there could be a quarterback controversy brewing once Gradkowski gets healthy.
Joseph Addai, Colts: SHOULDER
The brittle Addai took a big hit to his shoulder during the Colts’ victory over Kansas City and Mike Hart got the carries in his place after that. The early reports are that the injury is just a bruise and that Addai may not miss any time, though it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him sit one week with a bye awaiting Indy after that.
Peyton Hillis, Browns: QUAD
The surprisingly effective Hillis hurt his quad in practice during the week and aggravated it Sunday against Atlanta. Early reports suggest he’ll be ready to go against Pittsburgh this weekend.
Mark Clayton, Rams: KNEE
Sam Bradford’s top target is no more. Mark Clayton, enjoying a breakout season, tore his patellar tendon yesterday and will miss the rest of 2010. Sad story. The Rams’ sportsbook value will take a bit of a hit here too.
Jermichael Finley, Packers: KNEE/HAMSTRING
Early reports said that the Packers’ all-world tight end displaced a hamstring tendon. However, it was announced today that Finley would have arthroscopic knee surgery and miss three to six weeks. Yet another big blow to the Pack.
Trent Williams and Jammal Brown, Redskins: KNEES
Gulp. The Redskins lost both their starting tackles to knee injuries during Sunday’s victory over Green Bay. Brown’s injury is a sprain whereas the rookie Williams may have escaped a major ACL injury. He will have an MRI today to be safe but believes he won’t miss any time.
Clay Matthews, Packers: HAMSTRING
The Packers’ grim day of news on this sports betting blog continues with linebacker Clay Matthews, who has looked like a Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner this season. He strained his hamstring yesterday but looks for now like he won’t miss more than a week.