A beloved quarterback suffered a punctured lung after a team doctor accidentally struck the organ while administering an injection.
Tyrod Taylor of the Los Angeles Chargers suffered an injury that may impact have a significant impact on his entire career. Sources told ESPN today that the 31-year-old suffered a punctured lung before his scheduled start last Sunday after a team doctor injected a painkiller to ease the quarterback’s cracked ribs.
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Taylor wasn’t able to start the game vs. the Kansas City Chiefs due to the injury and was replaced in the lineup by Justin Herbert, the rookie out of Oregon who gained praise from his performance even in an ultimately losing effort. Now the NFL Players Association is investigating the situation.
“Our medical and legal team have been in touch with Tyrod and his agent since Sunday collecting facts,” said NFLPA assistant executive director of external affairs George Atallah in a tweet on Wednesday. “An investigation has been initiated.”
This isn’t the first time NFL doctors have made a major mistake. In 2019, People reported that Washington Football Team OT Trent Williams almost lost his life after team doctors misdiagnosed a cancerous tumor for six years. He was eventually diagnosed with Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans or DFSP, a very rare cancer. Wiliams said team doctors downplayed the mass on his head and the misdiagnosis caused him to miss games in 2019.
Luckily, Taylor’s injury is not considered life-threatening. Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn says, “It happens…the doctors just made a mistake. Tyrod’s not angry, not upset.”
Taylor cracked his ribs during a game with the Cincinnati Bengals but was able to play with the injury. He was hospitalized on Sunday after he reported chest pains and breathing issues. Doctors have advised him not to play “indefinitely.”
Taylor is in his first season with the Chargers as the starting quarterback in place of their longtime QB, Phillip Rivers, who is now in Indianapolis. Fans are ready to have him back on the field and so is his coach, but only when he’s ready.
Lynn says, ”If Tyrod is 100%, he’s our quarterback.”
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However, some football fans and fellow NFL players on social media think Taylor, who has played for four NFL teams, deserves some compensation for his injury, especially with Herbert, a first-round draft pick, now starting in his place.
However, there may be little Taylor can do if this tweet is, in fact, true:
Taylor’s longest NFL stint was in Buffalo, where he was traded after leading the team to its first playoff game in eighteen years. Taylor has struggled with various injuries throughout his nine-year career.
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