For the last several years, I have discussed the horrible narratives that have been created across the NFL community surrounding players’ decisions about playing while injured. Fans and analysts have come to believe that “toughness” and the ability to “play through the pain” are positive traits for all football players, regardless of injury. But the reality is that these injuries can ruin a career, and there is a fine line between being “tough” and being stupid.
There are many prominent examples of this, with players who have both chosen or have been forced to “play through the pain” and have completely derailed their careers. The most recent example is Daniel Jones, the Colts quarterback, who tore his Achilles tendon this weekend, ending his season and likely affecting the rest of his career. Jones was playing through a fracture in his opposite leg, a move nearly all doctors would recommend against, but in the name of toughness, the Colts elected to let Jones back on the field for their matchup against their division rivals, the Jaguars.
Only one quarter went by in that game before the clearly hobbled Jones took a bad step on his plant leg and went down, grabbing at his ankle. It was clear he was aware of what had happened, and on Monday, it was confirmed that Jones had torn his Achilles tendon. Jones likely would have missed maybe a month or two to allow his fracture to heal; now, he may be out through the start of the 2026 season in August.
This is not a new problem for the NFL, and one of the most prominent examples is Robert Griffin III, a former Washington quarterback who suffered a brutal knee injury that significantly hindered his career. In the 2012/2013 season, Griffin suffered a LCL sprain in his right knee after taking an ugly hit from Ravens DT Haloti Ngata. Griffin (who already had torn the ACL in that knee) only missed one game before he was allowed back onto the field for a playoff game against the Seahawks.
The team sent a hobbled RGIII onto the field with a knee brace, hoping he could “play through the pain” and help lead the team to a playoff win. Despite it being his plant leg (much more critical for the QB), Griffin came out and helped lead Washington into the 4th Quarter down just 7 points. It was clear Griffin was uncomfortable, and many fans even called for the team to pull him in favor of backup Kirk Cousins, even though the game was close.
Nonetheless, Washington sent out their young QB, who took a bad snap, buckled his knee, and lay face down on the ground in clearly agonizing pain. Griffin had torn the ACL, LCL, and meniscus in his right knee, the second time tearing his ACL in the same leg, and he was never quite the same. RGIII was one of the most athletically gifted quarterbacks football had ever seen, but yet again, the football community’s push for “toughness” claimed another victim.
For some perspective on how prevalent this is in the NFL community, the same Washington franchise that saw RGIII’s career end is now watching the team send injured Jayden Daniels onto the field. Daniels suffered a gruesome elbow injury early in the season for Washington, with a dislocation that looked like it would keep him out for some time. But no, Daniels did not even make injured reserve and missed only three games before returning to a 3-9 team to play in an utterly meaningless game.
Daniels had already suffered knee and hamstring injuries earlier in the season. Despite the season already being lost, the Commanders have elected to send him onto the field. Against the Vikings last weekend, Daniels was knocked around, and his elbow was clearly in pain. While some would argue it was his non-throwing arm, putting JD5 on the field was a clear, unnecessary risk to the Commanders’ young franchise quarterback’s health. This is also happening in LA, where the Chargers quarterback is playing with a fracture in his non-throwing hand, which has clearly caused him discomfort in games.
In my opinion, this is malpractice and, honestly, is flat-out stupid. Millions of people watch the NFL, and many kids idolize the players on their favorite teams. When they watch as their quarterback fights through an injury to play in a game that holds little to no value in a season, what message does that send? We already have football parents telling their kids to toughen up and play, something that has been shown to have long-term impacts on the health of kids and young adults.
This rhetoric about toughness in the NFL needs to be fixed, and it needs to be fixed now. This is far bigger than just a couple of NFL quarterbacks, and the messages that are being spread to America’s youth that it is okay to be reckless with your health for the sake of a win in a football game are disgusting.
The NFL has cracked down on concussions, as it has required independent neurologists to evaluate players suffering from concussive symptoms. But for some, the rhetoric around those injuries has not changed, and it is possible that it cost former Giants coach Brian Daboll his job when he came into the blue tent yelling for the doctor to let his quarterback back into the game.
Long story short, the way that America views professional athletes needs to change, as it needs to be made very clear that the health of all players comes before all else. Health should be the priority at all levels, and no parent or player should push themselves to play through an injury against a medical professional’s advice. As a whole, we need to understand that this rhetoric around toughness is ruining careers and can destroy lives, and we all need to be better at prioritizing our athletes’ health.
