Inside The Star
All 32 NFL teams have finally gotten in a preseason game for the 2025 campaign. It wasn’t all that pretty.
Some bad football was to be expected given it was the first full contact players have experienced in months.
But what was worse about the first week were some of the injuries, many that ended players’ seasons before they even began.
Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson was sacked and left the game with a pinky on his throwing hand pointing in the wrong direction.
Later in the same game, Baltimore Ravens rookie cornerback Bilhal Kone went to the ground during a play. His left leg was pointing in the wrong direction at the knee.
Kone is done for the year.
Vikings receiver Rondale Moore, who missed all of 2024 due to a knee injury, hurt his knee again on Saturday against the Texans. The injury is considered significant.
Detroit defensive back Morice Norris left the game against the Falcons in an ambulance after taking a knee to the head.
The game was suspended after he was carried off the field.
There were several more injuries during the first week. These were just the most notable ones.
There’s been a lot of talk about Dallas’ kicker Brandon Aubrey lining up to break the record for longest field goal in the regular season.
On Saturday night in Jacksonville, Aubrey got served notice that he might not have the biggest leg in the NFL anymore.
Cam Little, in his second year in the NFL, nailed a 70-yard field goal on Saturday night against the Steelers. That would have broken Justin Tucker’s record of 66 yards set in 2021.
Had the kick been made during the regular season, that is.
One suspects that Little will be getting another shot at Tucker’s mark during the upcoming regular season with an eye on making it official this time.
Former Cowboys’ quarterback Cooper Rush got the start for the Baltimore Ravens. It did not go as planned.
On his first pass as a Raven, Rush was picked off, setting up a field goal for the Colts.
Rush was 2-for-4 for 16 yards in Baltimore’s 24-16 win over Indianapolis on Thursday.
Shedeur Sanders got the start for the Cleveland Browns on Friday night. He finished 14-of-23 for 138 yards and two touchdowns.
Against players who’ll probably be on Carolina’s roster next month, he was a paltry 3-for-7 for 33 yards.
His first touchdown “drive” was a two-play, 10-yard drive after a turnover. The majority of his damage came against players who’ll be working at 7-11 on the opening Sunday of the season.
To hear some in the media, Sanders “silenced” his critics on Friday.
We’ll wait and see how he fares, assuming he starts in the regular season.
