Why do so many NFL players get injured? Specialized switches were in trend this season

EGAN, Minnesota – The kicker’s carousel often spins around NFL this fall

Riders continue to get injured.

Traditionally viewed in this hard-fought sport as oddball specialists trying to avoid the dangers lurking on the field, the hitting community has endured a tremendous amount of pain this season for a role that largely depends on how to manage the psyche. performance tasks under high pressure.

Teams that have made it this far without having to trade kickers should feel lucky.

“Just looking for a live leg, you know?” This was announced by the interim coach of the New York Jets, Jeff Ulbrich last week after his team’s final shuffle landed on Spencer Schrader, who now headed to the Kansas City Chiefs with eighth-year veteran Harrison Butker on injured reserve.

Butker is one of seven kickers currently on IR, a sort of who’s who at the position that includes Matt Prater and Greg Zuerlein.

This will be Schrader’s third team, he also had one game with the Indianapolis Colts. His expected replacement with the Jets, Anders Karlsson, has already served in two games for the San Francisco 49ers. There have been 45 different players who have attempted at least one punt this regular season starting this week, and that number does not reflect Schrader’s multiple team appearances. Basically, after the weekend, the total will be 48.

The Jets will be at four — in four weeks — and join the 49ers and their co-tenant, the New York Giants, for the most in the league. Both the 49ers and Giants had to give their players the edge due to injuries during the game. Washington Command used three.

According to Sportradar, the league used just 41 kickers through the entire 2023 season, including one punter appearance and a double by Riley Patterson for both the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions. A decade ago, only 37 players attempted a punt in a regular season game.

So what’s the story? As expected, opinions on the NFL are mixed.

One problem was more kickoffs in the game after rule changeas the 49ers felt when Jake Moody and Matthew Wright failed on back-to-back tackle attempts. Touchback rate, according to Sportradar, dropped from 74.3% in 2023 to 67.2% in 2024.

“I’d never be a coach to say, ‘Just let them score,’ but damn, that’s two weeks in a row,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said last month.

There is also, of course, a theory that the collective increase in leg strength in the league has led to more muscle injuries. Nine field goals of 60 or more yards have already been made, matching the 2023 total. The 50-plus field goal total, now at 154, will soon surpass the 2023 total of 230.

“As a result of that, maybe you’re practicing and working more 50-yard throws during the week, so the stress on the leg and those soft tissue injuries build up as we get deeper and deeper into the season,” said Minnesota’s special teams coordinator Vikings’ Matt Daniels, whose rookie Will Reichard was injured last week with a quadriceps strain sustained in a recent game.

The Vikings typically begin practice on Wednesdays and Fridays before Sunday’s game.

“You really have to make sure you keep an eye on those guys, especially the young guys who feel like young linemen and can kick until their leg falls off,” Daniels said. “You definitely have to be smart about it and hold them accountable.”

For those who dismiss the correlation between longer distance kicks and increased injuries around the league, there is still a clear understanding that weekly workloads should be cautious.

“Part of it is finding that routine in the first place. I think some guys are young enough that it doesn’t matter early on, and after a couple of years if they don’t have a routine, it kind of rears its head and something happens,” said Browns linebacker Dustin Hopkins, who struggled with hamstring injuries for several seasons. “I don’t want to talk about long kicks because theoretically your effort is very similar — at least to me — for a 60-yarder and a 44-yarder.”

Parker Romo can attest to the benefits of a reliable procedure. The 27-year-old got the call from the Vikings to replace Reichardt and made all four of his field goal attempts in a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars last week.

“You definitely don’t want to be kicking hard just because you never know when the phone might ring. You have to be ready because one day you get the call and the next day you’re practicing with the team,” Romo said. “I think it’s just important to limit those longer reps. Sure, it’s fun to hit them and keep going, but you have to be smart.”

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AP Pro Football Writers Josh Dabow, Teresa M. Walker and Dennis Waszak Jr., along with AP sports writers Steve Megargy, Alanis Thames, John Vavrow and Tom Withers contributed.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL