NOTE: This column is a living document. I'll be updating as needed after team press conferences, imaging reports, Monday Night Football injuries, etc. Major changes to the content will be noted in red. I'll also be retweeting any key pieces of news and my own reaction and analysis, so make sure you're following @JeneBramel and checking my timeline on Twitter throughout the week.
INJURY ROUNDS
NICK FOLES | SHOULDER INJURY | MONTH-TO-MONTH
When I saw this injury live and with the single television replay yesterday, I thought the mechanism was more worrisome for an AC sprain than a collarbone injury. The blow seemed to be to the top of the shoulder rather than a rolling mechanism to the front and side. It became clear the Eagles' medical staff was worried about more when Foles didn't emerge quickly from the x-ray room and reports soon began trickling out Foles had suffered a broken collarbone.
That's still not been confirmed by the team, but a closer look at the video defintiely supports the concern. What's odd here is Foles will reportedly have an MRI on Monday to further assess the damage. Clavicle fractures are easy to diagnose on the sideline and easy to see on a simple x-ray. With the mechanism being a little different than the typical collarbone fracture and with the need for an MRI (better for soft tissue than bone), I think this may be more than a simple midshaft collarbone fracture.
If that's the case, it means the medical staff wants a look at either the AC (acromioclavicular) joint end of the collarbone (where a sprain can sometimes be severe enough to involve a break at that end of the collarbone) or the SC (sternoclavicular) joint end of the collarbone (where a sprain or dislocation can occur).
A high grade AC sprain often causes a debate over whether to have surgery or not, though it's better for Foles as his non-throwing shoulder is involved. We've seen similar injuries with Foles' backup Mark Sanchez and Sam Bradford in past seasons. A high grade SC sprain / dislocation is also a serious injury. We've seen similar injuries with Ben Roethlisberger and Danny Amendola in recent seasons.
Interestingly, a non-surgical high grade AC sprain or a mid-high grade SC sprain may only be 4-6 week injuries. A midshaft collarbone fracture, whether requiring plate fixation or not, is often a 6-8 week injury. Foles MRI will tell the team more today, but I'd bet on the clavicle fracture and set the over-under for his return at 6 weeks for now. I doubt it'll be less than that, and there's a chance it'll be closer to 8 weeks.
arian foster | groin | week-to-week
While I argue against inappropriately slapping an injury prone label on players -- it's retrospective and difficult to apply as a predictive term for lots of reasons -- some players are more likely to have certain injuries than others. Arian Foster is clearly one of them.
Over the past few years, Foster has had multiple hamstring, groin and calf strains. Many of them are mid-high grade injuries, which by definition are sizable enough to likely leave scar tissue behind. Those areas of weakness have a high risk of repeat injury. So, while I'll never say with certainty Foster is prone to having X injury in X week, I have said it's worth considering him snap-to-snap. When he's healthy, he can do things few running backs can do. When he tweaks something, however, it's often a multi-week recovery.
And I think that's where we are again.
Foster went down with a right groin strain on Sunday. Unlike Montee Ball and Fred Jackson, there was no unexpected footfall or contact whatsoever in Foster's injury. Foster would hop off the field and slam his helmet on the turf on his way to the sideline. Foster has more reason than anyone to be fussy with his body letting him down with any little tweak, but there's good reason to believe this is, at minimum, a serious Grade 1 strain and possibly more.
Non-contact injuries are often more than small tweaks and cramps. Players go down because they've felt a pop or feel severe and immediate tightness and pain. Also, Foster rarely has minor muscle strains and often needs multiple weeks to recover. Finally, Foster was on the injury report with a groin concern two weeks ago. While it may not be related, there's obviously a risk this injury is an aggravation and those are often of higher grade than the iniital injury.
Add Foster's history up with the clues from Sunday and I think we're looking at a Grade 1/2 strain at minimum. That's likely a 2-4 week injury. The Texans have a bye this week and 14 days to aggressively treat Foster in hopes he'll be ready for Week 11. Plan on him not practicing much next week and being a game time decision at best. We may know more after Monday's MRI.
lamar miller | shoulder | day-to-day
Miller told reporters in the locker room his shoulder injury was a stinger and he could have returned to the game if needed. A closer look at his second to last run of the day (the play before he left the field) shows Miller flexing the fingers on his left hand before the broadcast cut away.
But there may be more to this.
Drew Rosenhaus called Miller's injury a sprain on the radio last night. Miller will reportedly have an MRI on Monday to assess the severity of the injury -- something that isn't commonly done for a stinger which Miller suggests resolved quickly enough he could have returned to the game. And the image above shows the Miami medical staff performing a test designed to test the structure of the shoulder rather than assess for any weakness related to a stinger.
This may be nothing more than a stinger and Miller may be practicing without difficulty on Wednesday. But stay tuned here just in case.
330 ET: Armando Salguero is reporting Miller's MRI showed an AC sprain. That's more consistent with the run of events for the most part. We've had many players suffer AC sprains this year. Some have returned to play in the same game and remained effective (DeSean Jackson). Others have struggled for multiple weeks (Jordan Cameron, Jimmy Graham). Miller's recovery will mostly be based on grade (which hasn't been reported) and pain tolerance. Expect him to be limited in practice early this week.
wes welker | back | day-to-day
Welker took a big shot to his mid/lower back Sunday and didn't return. Contusion, muscle spasm, rib injury, even a transverse or spinous process fracture, are all possible diagnoses here. Welker will have more imaging today to help define the injury and provide an early timetable for his return.
philip rivers | hand | day-to-day
The Chargers and Rivers are saying there is no serious injury to Rivers' hand and there are no indications of a further workup or specialist visits today. It's something I'll update later today if any unexpected news breaks.
FOLLOW-UP APPOINTMENTS
tony romo | transverse process fractures | week-to-week
Romo, smartly, did not risk a setback with his back injury yesterday. As I wrote last week, these fractures are not structural but are often associated with signficant muscle spasm and it can be difficult to manage the pain with padding and injections. Romo will travel with the team to London on Monday and has a much better chance of playing in Week 10 than he did last week. However, with the Cowboys' Week 11 bye to follow and critical divisional matchups against the Giants and Eagles (twice) between Week 12 and 15, Dallas may still choose to be cautious with Romo this week.
aaron rodgers | hamstring strain | week-to-week
Rodgers didn't do his usual early week radio show last week and there's been no update on his condition since the post-game interviews last week. While Rodgers is a mobile quarterback and needs to be able to move reasonably well given the struggles of his offensive line, he can likely play through a strain that's less than 95%. I'd tentatively expect him to play in Week 9 but we'll know more after the Packers' media sessions on Monday and Tuesday.
calvin johnson | high ankle sprain | day-to-day
Johnson is fully expected to return to practice and play this week. He will have had five weeks since his last game action when he takes the field this week. While there will be a small risk of another aggravation, Johnson should be very close to full strength.
gio bernard | hip pointer | week-to-week
Well, this escalated quickly...
RT @BrewsandBengals: @pauldehnerjr I may have missed this but is gio bernard good to play this thursday? // Won't happen.
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) November 3, 2014
On a podcast last week, I said it's time to get concerned if Bernard wasn't practicing and preparing to play in the Week 10 divisional matchup. Hip pointers are painful injuries and the Bengals have to game plan for an early game this week, but there's reason for concern here. I still don't believe there's much to last week's hint of a collarbone injury and this is likely a hip-related absence.
But the Bengals are not going to disclose anything useful on player injuries and video review was very difficult to interpret on this one. I'm not pressing the panic button, but it's worth noting something may be up here.
a.j. green | toe sprain | day-to-day
Green didn't play a full complement of snaps yesterday. According to a pre-game report Sunday morning, that was planned. Green looked comfortable on the majority of his snaps and is expected to be back to his usual role on Thursday.
rashad jennings | MCL sprain | day-to-day
Jennings was doing strenuous conditioning work last week and the Giants elected to make sure he was in full condition before inserting him into their game plan. That should limit Jennings' risk of a re-conditioning injury as he returns to practice this week and make it more likely he'll return to his pre-injury usage immediately. We'll know more after Wednesday's participation report, if not sooner.
jordan cameron | concussion | indefinite
Cameron reportedly isn't close to returning to contact yet. This will be the third time in three years Cameron has missed at least one week after suffering a concussion. While the team may be exercising caution given Cameron's history and the short turnaround to this week's game, that itself is reason for concern. Any player recovering from a concussion who hasn't been cleared for contact within 7-10 days belongs in an "indefinite" category for me. Not all players will follow the path of Jahvid Best or Nick Roach, but don't expect Cameron back anytime soon until we see him cleared for more activity.
ryan mathews | mcl sprain | day-to-day
Mathews returned to practice last week but wasn't ready to play on Sunday. He'll have two more weeks to recover and is likely to return after the Chargers' Week 10 bye.
marcus lattimore | multi-ligament knee injury with dislocation | likely to retire
lattimore was not with the team on Sunday after making a return to practice last week. After a number of ominous tweets from beat writers about potential soreness in his knee, Monday morning brought reports Lattimore was considering retirement. Now two full years after his multi-ligament injury and never able to regain any of his former explosiveness, it's very unlikely Lattimore can make the return Sean Spence or Willis McGahee did with similarly catastrophic knee injuries.
One of the best running back prospects in years before his injury, it's very sad Lattimore will never be able to realize his potential. By all accounts, Lattimore is a great kid. Hopefully, he'll find fulfillment off the field.
AROUND THE TRAINING TABLE
Another week, another handful of devastating linebacker injuries. DeMeco Ryans will have surgery for a torn Achilles, Nate Irving looks to be out multiple weeks with a knee injury, and Ryan Shazier's mechanism of injury was most consistent with a high ankle sprain. Troy Polamalu may miss time with a leg injury.
Finally, Todd Herremans. I'd missed last week that the Eagles announced his injury as an elbow injury during the game. When asked how likely Herremans would be effective trying to play through a biceps tear, I tweeted he'd be limited but likely effective if his tear was near the shoulder. It's simply amazing Herremans is attempting to play through a biceps injury on the elbow side of the muscle. That's extremely difficult. Now, it looks like Herremans will miss time with an ankle injury. Depending on the severity of the ankle condition, we may see Herremans shut it down for the rest of 2014 to surgically address the biceps injury.
I'll be updating this feature throughout the day. Footballguys Insiders will get a full update with additional fantasy perspectives on Wednesday, with analysis of the week's game-time decisions early Sunday morning. Follow me on Twitter @JeneBramel for breaking injury news and analysis throughout the week.
