IN PHOTOS: Arizona Cardinals star suffers freak injury from second-degree burns in terrible cooking accident
Every once in a while, unbelievable injuries occur to NFL players, like what just happened to Arizona Cardinals cornerback Antonio Hamilton. Injuries happen all the time in football, but sometimes they're rather strange.
NFL players have missed time due to freak injuries from punching a wall, riding a bicycle, and all manner of seemingly innocuous activities. Cooking would certainly fall under that category, as it's normally not unsafe and is an everyday activity.
However, that's exactly what happened with Hamilton, as he received bizarre burns from a cooking incident just after training camp finished.
Had the greatest camp of my career & last Monday I had a accident that could've ended up deadly for me & my family but instead I got the short end of it by having my feet severely burned (2nd degree). It was literally a freak accident and God spared me to only have these injuries https://t.co/8SXhJjzZbW
Hamilton shared via social media that he had had his best training camp ever with the Cardinals and followed it up with a rather harrowing incident.
@UnitedSt8Of_Ham You'll be back in no time, but tell me. Isn't 2nd degree burns the most painful thing ever? Burnt my right arm like that, and once you dress it regularly it recovers quickly. Best of luck.
The burns are tough to look at, as Hamilton appears to have lost skin on his legs and feet, including on a few toes.
Hamilton was well on his way to contributing for the Arizona Cardinals this season but will now be on the reserve/non-football injury list. It means that he will miss the first four games, at minimum, while he recovers from the burns.
Can the Arizona Cardinals usurp the Los Angeles Rams' NFC West crown?
After making the playoffs as a wild card last season, the Arizona Cardinals are primed to make a run at the division title. The Rams won it last year en route to a Super Bowl win and are poised to try and repeat.
However, there are serious concerns about Matthew Stafford's elbow and if that's a prevailing issue all year long, it could open the door for a contender. It could either be the Cardinals or the San Francisco 49ers, to try and sneak in.
Arizona just signed Kyler Murray to a massive extension and added wide receiver Marquise Brown to the offense. They'll be without DeAndre Hopkins for six weeks, but it will once again be one of the league's best offenses.
If the growth from last year continues, there's a real shot they can dethrone the Rams. However, the Rams also improved in key areas, so it should be a divisional race worth watching.
There are three legitimate contenders in the West, and that can often lower the teams' records as they routinely beat up on each other. If all goes well, then it wouldn't at all be a surprise to see Arizona take the West.