This article is part of our Injury Analysis series.
Editor's Note: After this article was submitted came the news that Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was in a car accident and suffered two fractures to the transverse process in his lower back. The injury as reported is very similar to one suffered by Tony Romo earlier this year. Here's what Jeff said about Romo's injury at the time:Transverse process fractures are not unprecedented in sports. If you will recall Brazil's Neymar missed a large portion of the World Cup after sustaining a transverse process fracture. Multiple NBA players have suffered the injury following a hard fall, including Hedo Turkoglu and Chris Andersen. In football, Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty missed a game after suffering an isolated transverse process fracture earlier this season. All these players healed in a relatively quick fashion.
Romo ultimately missed one week due to that injury. At this time, Newton's status for this week's game and beyond is unclear.
Occasionally in the NFL the stars will randomly align and a group of unrelated players will all fall victim to a similar injury. The current injury of the moment is the hip with multiple big name players limping off the field. It actually started in Week 13 with Arizona's Andre Ellington.
Ellington suffered what was initially ruled a hip pointer. A hip pointer occurs when an athlete has suffers a contusion to the crest of the ilium, one of the three bones that form the hip. Your iliac crest is what you rest your hands on when you place your hands on your hips. The injury itself can be extremely painful with trunk rotation as well as other activities including breathing, laughing, and coughing. Nerve involvement with a specific nerve that runs along the iliac crest is the primary reason hip pointers elicit so much pain.
To further complicate things, the hip flexor muscles attach along the iliac crest and are often injured as well. For Ellington it appears damage to the muscle was more serious than initially believed. Upon further evaluation, it was determined he had suffered a hernia and season-ending surgery would be necessary. Some reports have referred to the injury as a sports hernia.
A sports hernia usually develops when repetitive forces placed through the midsection are rerouted into the groin and abdominal muscles, resulting in micro-tears in the muscle. However, like in the case of Ellington, they can occur with direct trauma if the hip is violently forced out and back. Regardless of the mechanism of injury, the damage leaves the abdominal wall and inguinal canal damaged and weakened. As a result a hernia can develop, though occasionally a true protrusion will not be present.
Surgery to fix the area will involve any herniated protrusion being returned to its normal location and the insertion of a surgical mesh. The mesh is designed to reinforce the area and hopefully prevent reoccurrence. Fortunately for Ellington, the surgery has a high success rate and players are generally able to return six weeks following the procedure. Ellington's 2014 season is over but he should be fine for next year. In the meantime, Kerwynn Williams takes over as the lead back in Arizona. Williams was solid against the Chiefs rushing for 100 yards on 19 carries.
Green Bay's Eddie Lacy is the other running back dealing with a hip issue though his injury appears to be significantly less severe. Lacy turned in a dominant performance on Monday night with 106 totals yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. However he took a shot to his hip in the second half and had to let teammate James Stark close out the win over the Falcons. The injury is currently being ruled a hip bruise but as we've seen with Ellington he's not 100 percent out of the woods just yet. Monitor his status throughout the week to insure he's healthy enough to take the field against the Bills though I'm betting he's fine moving forward.
Atlanta receiver Julio Jones was also a spectator in the fourth quarter of Monday night's contest with a hip injury of his own. Jones was in the middle of a career night hauling in 11 passes for 259 yards and a touchdown. However the Pro Bowl receiver left during the fourth quarter following a reception in which he absorbed contact and awkwardly hit the ground. After the game Jones voiced his frustration with being unable to return to the game for the team's final drive and downplayed the severity of the ailment. A diagnosis has not been made but the team doesn't appear to be overly concerned. Like Lacy, fantasy owners will have to take a wait-and-see approach before turning to Jones for Week 15.
Turf Burns
Jamaal Charles: The Chiefs running back is dealing with issues in his knee and ankle and appears poised to miss a few practice sessions this week. Charles aggravated the same ankle he sprained earlier this season and also experienced swelling in his left knee. Charles was able to play through the injuries for part of Sunday's game but the team will likely limit his practice reps to allow for extra treatment time. Expect this to be a game-time decision and have a suitable insurance policy, like teammate Knile Davis, available.
Percy Harvin: Harvin suffered a sprained ankle Sunday though additional tests have ruled out a high-ankle sprain and fracture. The Jets are uncertain about his availability for Sunday and, based on his history, it wouldn't be shocking to see him in street clothes on the sidelines.
Andre Johnson: The veteran receiver was showing signs of life Sunday, catching four passes before a hard hit left him concussed. He has been placed in the league's mandated concussion protocol and will have to meet the various benchmarks before he will be allowed to return to action. Keep in mind the effects of multiple concussions are cumulative and this isn't Johnson's first head injury. He sustained a concussion in Week 2 of the 2013 season but did not miss any time.
Brandon Marshall: Marshall's season is over after he suffered two broken ribs and a lung injury in the team's loss to Dallas. The injury is a scary one but shouldn't have any long-term effects on Marshall moving forward.
Tony Romo: Romo recently admitted he's been dealing with a lingering rib injury for most of the season in addition to his various back ailments. The injury doesn't involve rib bone but instead the cartilage in the area. Romo has been receiving pain infections to help manage the associated symptoms and has been wearing a Kevlar-infused flak jacket for additional protection. The Dallas quarterback also revealed he did not receive his usual Toradol injection prior to the team's Thanksgiving game against Philadelphia despite a quick turnaround. Romo was visibly off in the blowout loss and put forth his worst effort of the season. With a rematch set for Sunday night, expect Romo to be sharper with a full week of preparation, recovery, and a pre-game injection.
