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As we roll through the final third of the 2021 NFL regular season, no team is completely healthy, but the impact of injuries is felt differently across the league.
The New Orleans Saints lost quarterback Jameis Winston to a season-ending ACL tear in his left knee in a victory on Oct. 31 and haven’t won since. And the Seattle Seahawks struggled after quarterback Russell Wilson suffered a finger injury in Week 5.
For some teams, such as the Baltimore Ravens, the bad news started early in the season and hasn’t stopped. Baltimore was hit with season-ending injuries to running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards and has since lost several other key starters.
On the flip side, teams like the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys have weathered key injuries and are on the mend. As the playoff push hits high gear, ESPN’s NFL reporters assess the health of their teams using a 1-10 rating system (with 10 being the healthiest).
Jump to:
Feeling good | Could be worse
Under the weather
Feeling good (Rating: 7-10)
Health rating: 8
Players on IR: 8
Starts missed because of injury: 38
How badly has your team been hurt? The Chiefs have been more fortunate than a lot of teams in losing 38 starts by 10 different players. Hardest-hit has been the defense, where six different starters have missed at least one game. This list includes Chris Jones, Frank Clark, Tyrann Mathieu, Willie Gay and Anthony Hitchens. They are all back now, which helps to explain why the Chiefs are playing so much better on defense. — Adam Teicher
Health rating: 8
Players on IR: 13
Starts missed because of injury: 36
How badly has your team been hurt? Losing “passing back” James White for the season after three games has been the most crushing blow, along with slot cornerback Jonathan Jones after six games. And starting right tackle Trent Brown missed eight games with a right calf injury that continues to give him some issues. Those are the biggies. Everything else has been more of the shorter-term…
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Source : espn
