Injuries-galore: 2011 Injuries with the Most Impact

Injuries are just a part of life. You can't go a day without someone in your life feeling some sort of pain.

As far as football goes? Every injury suffered will have some sort of impact on not only yourself, but your team and that team's fan base, of course.

The National Football League has sustained too many devastating injuries by too many big-time stars. The most recent victim of this arial attack? Houston's All Pro defensive end Mario Williams.

Here is Williams' injury, and nine other superstars who will miss significant time–if not the entire season–due to a 2011 injury (or surgery).

Peyton Manning--Neck surgery, status uncertain

Manning's neck surgery has been the talk of the season. After a second neck surgery was conducted on the All Pro, future Hall of Fame signal caller in the offseason, Manning missed the entire preseason and has yet to suit up for the Colts in 2011.

With his status still uncertain for this season, we may not even see him take another snap until next regular season. Personally, I think he should win the MVP award for this season despite not taking a single snap...the Colts have gone from a sure-fire division winner to a winless cellar-dweller in the AFC South.

Mario Williams--torn pectoral muscle, out for season

The one thing that has been holding Houston back this season is injuries, and Mario Williams was just the latest Texan to suffer. Last week, while sacking Oakland Raiders quarterback Jason Campbell, the All Pro defensive end/outside linebacker suffered a torn pectoral muscle.

The effective of the loss on defense has yet to be determined, but I can assure you the Texans will suffer greatly from his absence.

Jamaal Charles--torn ACL, out for season

After last season's campaign of more than 1,400 yards on the ground, the sky was the limit for Charles. That was until he tore his ACL in a week two matchup with the still-undefeated Detroit Lions. He was placed on the injured reserve the following day, ending his season with just 83 rushing yards on 12 carries.

Kenny Britt--torn ACL and MCL, out for season

On Sept. 28 Tennessee's wideout was placed on the season-ending IR after tearing two ligaments three days prior. Britt's 17 catches and three TDs were a great asset to Tennessee's offense, but Matt Hasselbeck seems to be doing okay without him in the lineup. So far, at least.


Chad Henne--separated shoulder/surgery, out for season

Well, if one thing is evident it's that Henne's season-ending shoulder surgery solved Miami's quarterback situation for them, making Tony Sparano's job a little easier. Coming off a bye week, Miami will test out new starter Matt Moore in his first start of 2011 on Monday night.

Jon Beason--left achilles tendon, out for season

Nearly two months after signing a new, long-term deal with the Panthers, Beason–Carolina's defensive captain–was placed on the IR and lost for the season. Carolina's defense has suffered greatly after losing its key defensive piece. Cam Newton has done a swell job at leading Carolina's offense, but there's a gaping hole in the defense.

Brandon Jackson--toe injury, out for season

This one isn't major, considering he's now a Cleveland Brown and wasn't supposed to see much of the field playing behind Peyton Hillis and youngster Montario Hardesty, but I thought it was worthy enough of a mention anyways. Jackson was placed on season-ending IR before the regular season even got kicked off.

Jackson once had so much hope and upside, but his career has quickly hit a wall and I'm not so sure he will be able to successfully bounce back from this one.

Nate Kaeding--torn ACL, out for season

Kaeding ended his 2010 campaign with the Chargers as the NFL's most accurate kicker of all-time (86.5% of FG attempts were converted), but his 2011 season ended before it even really got started after he tore his ACL at the beginning of the first game of the season. As a result, San Diego signed Nick Novak to take care of the placekicking duties.

Mikel LeShoure--torn achilles tendon, out for season

Detroit's rookie running back, taken with the 57th overall pick in the draft, went down with an injured achilles in the second game of the preseason. After racking up over 1,600 yards and 17 touchdowns as a senior at Illinois, Detroit had high hopes for the youngster, but it appears as though they will have to wait until 2012 to see what he can bring to the table.

Domenik Hixon--torn ACL, out for season

For the second consecutive season, Hixon sustained a torn ACL in his right knee, ending his season after playing just two games. Hixon is just one of many players the Giants have lost due to injury so far this season. The injuries will catch up to New York eventually, right? Most likely when they hit the final stretch of the season and need healthy players in order to make a run at the playoffs.

Photo credit
Williams: Bob Levey/Getty Images
Henne: Matt Sullivan/Getty Images
Kaeding: Christian Petersen/Getty Images