Injury Bug Bites Hard: Pacheco's Back Surgery, Shepard to the Jets, and Texans Lose To'oto'o
Mike Garafolo reported the string of roster updates on Good Morning Football.
The NFL injury report is already reading like a CVS receipt, and we are barely out of the opening week. Mike Garafolo just dropped a triple-header of roster misery that has fantasy managers and front offices scrambling for the panic button.
First up, running back Isaiah Pacheco just had back surgery to remove something pressing on a nerve. That sounds less like a football injury and more like a botched chiropractic adjustment. He is looking at a 12-week recovery, which is brutal considering he was already dealing with an MCL sprain from training camp. Detroit just survived a 31-30 shootout against the New Orleans Saints, but losing a guy who has racked up over 2,500 career rushing yards means their backfield rotation is suddenly looking dangerously thin.
Over in New York, the Jets are doing that classic Jets thing where they sign a 33-year-old receiver and pretend it solves a structural problem. Sterling Shepard is officially on the roster. He managed 39 catches for 371 yards with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season, which is decent production until you remember his medical history includes a torn ACL, a torn Achilles, and enough hamstring pulls to fill a medical journal. Relying on him for meaningful snaps is certainly a choice.
Down south, the are getting absolutely cooked by the injury bug. Linebacker Henry To'oto'o is heading to injured reserve and is expected to miss significantly more than the minimum four weeks. Houston just surrendered 36 points in a loss to the , so losing a starting linebacker is like throwing a deck chair off the Titanic.
If you are holding win-total tickets for any of these teams, you might want to start hedging your emotional investment. has to figure out how to run the ball against this week without their bruising back, while Houston desperately needs to find someone to plug the massive hole in the middle of their defense.
We will see if Shepard can actually stay on the field long enough to catch a pass in green and white. Until then, expect the Lions and Texans to be aggressively working the waiver wire before the real midseason desperation kicks in.