5 NFL superstars set to miss Wild Card round with injury ft. DeAndre Hopkins and more
The NFL playoffs get underway on Saturday with the Wild Card round action kicking off in Cincinnati and Buffalo.
As the NFL's postseason advertisements have consistently reminded us, Saturday's games kick off a repeat of the "biggest" Wild Card weekend ever, with 12 teams going at it over the course of six games and three days.
Alas, medical woes will cause some of the notable stars from the dozen squads involved to miss out on the NFL action...
Which NFL stars are set to miss Wild Card Weekend?
LB Jamie Collins, New England Patriots
As they prepare for Saturday's matchup against Josh Allen and the Bills (8:15 p.m. ET, CBS), several Patriots defenders were listed as limited participants in practice this week, while Collins was the only one (along with offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn) who has missed the affair entirely.
Collins is trying to nurse an ankle injury for a Patriots defense that will have its hands full trying to stop Allen in the freezing cold at Orchard Park.
S Jordan Fuller, LA Rams
Wild Card weekend will commence without a 199th overall pick on the field. No, it's not Tom Brady, but Jordan Fuller, the Los Angeles Rams' leading tackler (113), who will be missing the festivities.
Fuller suffered an ankle injury in the Rams' Week 18 loss to San Francisco and was almost immediately placed on injured reserve.
So desperate are the Rams for help in the secondary (Taylor Rapp is also held up in concussion protocol) that they've called five-time NFL All-Pro safety Eric Weddle out of retirement to help out.
WR Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay
Tampa will get some of its weaponry back as they start a Super Bowl defense, but leading receiver Godwin won't be involved, as placement on injured reserve thanks to a torn ACL ended his season early.
The Buccaneers will also be missing one of his replacements, Cyril Grayson, as head coach Bruce Arians labeled the latter "doubtful" for Sunday's tilt in Philadelphia (1 p.m. ET, Fox). Making things equally tough for Godwin is the fact that he won't have one last showcase to play for a big NFL contract, as he's set to hit free agency once the postseason ends.
WR DeAndre Hopkins, Arizona Cardinals
Hopkins hasn't played since suffering a knee injury in a Dec. 13 showdown with the Cardinals' Wild Card opponent, the Los Angeles Rams.
The delay mandated by the NFL's first-ever Monday night playoff game (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC) won't be enough to afford his return, as head coach Kliff Kingsbury has already announced that Hopkins won't be fully recovered from the surgery brought about by that previous ailment.
The Cardinals have gone 1-3 in Hopkins' absence, their lone win coming on January 2 in Dallas.
RB Ronald Jones, Tampa Bay
Also labeled as doubtful in Arians' report was Ronald Jones, who took over primary rushing duties in December after Leonard Fournette's injury. Jones didn't appear in the Week 18 finale against Carolina thanks to an ankle injury suffered in the penultimate game against the New York Jets, necessitating the signing of Le'Veon Bell in their proceedings.
On a brighter note for the defending NFL champions, they're set to welcome back Fournette, as well as defenders Lavonte David and Shaquil Barrett have been cleared to practice and Arians seemed optimistic that Jason Pierre-Paul will be ready to return after nearly a month off due to a shoulder issue.