Colts fans distraught as veteran DE Samson Ebukam suffers season-ending injury - "Can't we turn preseason injuries off?"
With the training camp in session, more and more injuries keep piling up. And Indianapolis Colts defensive end Samson Ebukam was the latest victim.
Ebukam suffered a lower leg injury during the Colts' Sunday practice. On Monday, it was confirmed that he tore his Achilles and will miss the upcoming season. NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport tweeted the update on X.
Fans reacted to the news of Ebukam's season-ending injury on X.
"Ughh that sucks. Hoping for a speedy and healthy recovery," one fan tweeted.
"That sucks!!! Off-season injuries are horrible to see," another fan tweeted.
"Wishing him a full speedy recovery hate seeing players going down like this," one person tweeted.
Ebukam is also coming off of a career season. He recorded more sacks (9.5), tackles (57), tackles for loss (11) and forced fumbles (3) this season than any other season. He signed a three-year deal with the Colts last off-season. So luckily, he at least has another year left on his contract.
Fans from all over the league wished Ebukam a speedy recovery. Sometimes, these injuries make fans realize the game is bigger than just football, and fans showed that to be the case on social media.
"best of luck to him and others with these things happening .. I never like to see this. Hell one of (near Tampa here) my favs ...Big Red (Ryan Jensen) basically had his football career end in training camp IIRC," one fan tweeted.
"Here I was just thinking colts had no preseason injuries and Boom!" a fan wrote.
"Damn. Hate seeing these guys going down so early. Train all off season for it to end so quickly. Brutal," one person said.
Laiatu Latu is expected to have an even bigger role with Samson Ebukam out for the season
Laiatu Latu was picked in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. The selection becomes more valuable as the Colts will be without one of their top DE this season after Samson Ebukam's injury.
Ebukam, who registered a career-high 9.5 sacks last season, led the Colts in that category. The Colts' starting DEs are Kwity Paye and Dayo Odeyingbo, and Latu is listed as the team's backup left DE.
Latu was a force as an edge rusher for the UCLA Bruins. He recorded 10+ sacks in the last two seasons. He had 23.5 sacks in 25 collegiate games with the Bruins. Indianapolis hopes for the same production from the rookie at some point, as they took him with their first-round pick in this year's draft.
With Ebukam out, Latu may get the opportunity to display his talents and show everyone why the Colts drafted him in the first round.