NFL Player Injuries - Impact on NFL Teams

As the Chargers closed out their annual OTA practices, free agent signing Gus Edwards was notably absent. The former Baltimore Ravens rusher had been present at mini-camp earlier in the offseason, but worked with trainers instead of his teammates in those sessions (as injured players do).

We don't know what kind of injury Edwards is dealing with, but it seems like it could be more than just a minor issue. After moving on from longtime back Austin Ekeler this offseason, the team will now be relying on Edwards, the oft-injured J.K. Dobbins, and sixth-round pick Kimani Vidal to carry the load for them in 2024.

Harbaugh is expected to lean heavily on the run in his first year back as an NFL head coach, but may find himself shorthanded when the season rolls around. If one back can stay healthy and consolidate the lion's share of the running back opportunities, they could churn out a fantastic fantasy season. But currently, our model projects Edwards and Dobbins to split the work, with Edwards projected for an RB32 finish and Dobbins behind him at RB49.

Johnson suffered a potentially serious foot injury in OTAs and is now reportedly headed for offseason surgery. Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, he is unfortunately expected to miss "a while", potentially leaving him sidelined through training camp later this summer. The veteran tight end could have been slated for an uptick in work in 2024 with the offseason hiring of new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, but his development in the team's new offensive environment could be stunted if he misses valuable offseason practice time. The initial projections at numberFire had him ranked as the TE18 for the upcoming season, but those rankings could change in light of this news.

Burrow resumed throwing in April as he continues to recover from surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right wrist. "It's a constant process," Burrow told the media at Tuesday's mandatory minicamp . "That's what coming back from an injury is. There will be good days and bad days. We'll take it day by day. I'll be ready to go for the season." The 27-year-old quarterback should be good to go for Week 1 against the New England Patriots on September 8.

numberFire's models project Burrow for 4,182.1 passing yards, 31.95 touchdowns, and 11.4 interceptions this season, with 56.7 rush attempts for 245.0 yards and 2.58 touchdowns. He's currently the QB8 in our preseason positional rankings.

Smith-Schuster landed with the Patriots in free agency last summer despite rumors of a concerning knee injury. The veteran wideout then struggled with that injury throughout the first season of his three-year deal with the team, limiting him to just 11 games while he caught a career-low 29 passes for 260 yards and a touchdown.

Smith-Schuster claims to have never felt better than 60% healthy during the 2023 season, but is now feeling healthy after a slower offseason. If he is as healthy as he claims, he could still find himself atop a wide open wide receiver depth chart for the Patriots this season. With former teammate DeVante Parker now a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, JuJu will be competing against rookies and Demario Douglas for opportunities in 2024.

Burrow suffered a strange, season-ending wrist injury in his throwing arm in Week 11 of the 2023 season, so it's encouraging to see him throwing in team-related activities already as he prepares for the 2024 season. The former first overall pick has dealt with an unfortunately high number of injuries since entering the league.

Notably, Burrow entered each of his last three seasons with injuries -- in 2021 he was recovering from his 2020 knee surgery, in 2022 he underwent an emergency appendectomy just before the season began, and in 2023 he was visibly hampered by his training camp calf strain for the first few weeks of the regular season. Given that he is already throwing again after his 2023 injury, hopefully Burrow can enter this season healthy for the first time since his rookie year.