NFL

Terrell Suggs Tears Achilles, And NFL Teams Might Never Let Their Players Play Basketball Again

In what is a bit of terrible news both for Terrell Suggs and the Baltimore Ravens as a whole, the 2011 NFL Defensive Player of the Year tore his Achilles’ tendon today either playing basketball or during a conditioning test. Though ESPN’s Adam Schefter says Suggs hopes to be back by October – and Suggs told Rachel Nichols he only suffered a partial tear – he could miss the entire 2012 season if the injury is more severe.

For Suggs, this could mean a year of his prime is out the window – a prime that might not have much longer to go, considering he turns 30 in October. For the Ravens, it means their hopes of winning it all, always alive with players like Suggs, Ray Lewis and Ed Reed on defense, take a major hit. The Ravens’ title window is closing as it is, since Lewis turns 37 later this month and Reed seemingly contemplates retirement every offseason. Suggs’ injury means it’s closing a little faster.

Further, the injury could have implications for players all around the league – specifically, the ones who enjoy playing basketball to stay in shape and/or just playing it. If Suggs indeed sustained his injury playing hoops, even if there was nothing in Suggs’ contract preventing him from playing, you can bet that not only the Ravens but every team in the NFL will make sure they do everything in their power to keep guys off the court moving forward. Really, they might do it even if Suggs’ wasn’t a basketball-related injury – just the thought that it could happen will be enough to scare everyone.

But however the injury happened, it doesn’t change this: it happened, Suggs will miss at least a significant chunk of the season, and that sucks. Like the Ravens – or Suggs – or not, he’s a great player, and the NFL puts out a better product when its best players are on the field. The NFL is less interesting if Suggs isn’t balling so hard in it and telling Skip Bayless not to be a douchebag on TV. Let’s hope he’s right about being back by mid-season.

Getty photo, by Donald Miralle; Photo in excerpt via