Preseason Doesn't Need To Be 'Panic Season' When It Comes to Injuries

Every year leading up to the start of the regular season, fans inevitably see two dreaded words pop up on Twitter and headlines.

However, “carted off” doesn’t always spell doom when it comes to player injuries.

Less than a week after losing center Ryan Jensen -- likely for the season -- to a severe left knee injury, Buccaneers fans got another scare with initial news about Tristan Wirfs.

While informative, Twitter is not the best place for context. Our team of doctors use context clues and videos when piecing together information about a player’s injury. 

That is tough in training camp when video is typically limited to beat reporters and fans on the sidelines, rather than the expensive NFL cameras with multiple angles of the action

In Wirfs' case, his issue was a simple cramp and the training staff’s use of the cart was not an indication of the severity of the injury.

Bills strong safety Micah Hyde also recently left practice on a cart after suffering a right leg injury.

However, he rode in the passenger seat of the cart, indicating that he was able to enter the cart under his own power instead of being “loaded” onto the back of the cart by the medical staff.

This is a key distinction and indicated that the injury was likely not serious. Our panel of doctors have decades of medical experience in the NFL and are supremely aware of the process when a player is injured during a game or in training camp. That is part of what goes into the injury analysis for our SIC scores.

In Hyde’s case, he was present at practice the next day with a minor hip/glute injury and is in no danger of missing Week 1.

Players also typically have free reign to use the cart in or out of practice. In the Packers’ case, it’s common to see players take rides to get to and from the locker room and practice facility.

“Carted off” can be a bad sign in certain contexts, but don’t panic next time you see it pop up on your feed.

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