AGL Totals by Position, from Jets Quarterbacks to Patriots Cornerbacks

Earlier this week, we examined adjusted games lost at the team level. Today, we’ll switch perspectives to evaluate the impact of injuries on each position. Note that adjusted games lost totals do not include the postseason. As we noted in our first article, injury totals were down across the NFL this year, so there aren’t a lot of records set. Numbers for positional injuries are generally lower than last year except for Houston’s offensive line.

Offense

Quarterbacks

You already know which team lost the most AGL to quarterback injuries in 2023: the New York Jets at 19.0. They lost Aaron Rodgers for 16 weeks with a torn Achilles and then Zach Wilson for three weeks with a concussion. The Colts were next at 13.0, with Anthony Richardson out 12 games with a shoulder sprain plus one game with a concussion. The Browns were at 10.6 due to varioius shoulder injuries for Deshaun Watson. The Giants were at 10.3 with Daniel Jones first missing time with a neck injury and then an ACL tear.

Other notable impacted teams and players:

• Arizona (9.3): Kyler Murray (knee, 9.3)
• Minnesota (9.0): Kirk Cousins (Achilles, 9.0)
• Cincinnati (7.4): Joe Burrow (calf/wrist, 7.3)

Running Backs

The Baltimore Ravens led the NFL in running back AGL (16.0) thanks to J.K. Dobbins tearing his Achilles in the first week of the season. Then came Cleveland at 15.4, primarily due to Nick Chubb‘s torn ACL. Those were the only two teams with more than 10.0 AGL from running backs in 2023.

Other notable impacted teams and players:

• Chicago (8.6): Khalil Herbert (ankle, 5.3)
• Miami (7.9): De’Von Achane (knee/shoulder, 5.0)
• Indianapolis (7.6): Jonathan Taylor (ankle/thumb, 7.3)
• Green Bay (5.9): Aaron Jones (hamstring/knee, 4.0)
• New England (5.6): Rhamondre Stevenson (ankle, 5.6)

Atlanta had no injuries to major running backs, while both Buffalo and Dallas were at 0.0 (rounded) for running back injuries. Eleven different teams had less than 1.0 AGL at the position.

Wide Receivers

The Los Angeles Chargers had the most AGL from wide receiver injuries at 26.5. That starts with 14 games that Mike Williams missed with a torn ACL. Josh Palmer was at 7.3 due to his own knee injuries and a concussion that cost him a start in Week 17. Keenan Allen added 4.6 due to a heel injury and a couple of appearances as questionable due to shoulder and quadriceps injuries.

Right behind the Chargers were the New England Patriots at 25.0. Kendrick Bourne missed nine games with an ACL tear. We counted Tyquan Thornton with 5.0 AGL due to a shoulder injury that cost him the first five weeks; we did not count later injuries after Thornton had lost a starting job. JuJu Smith-Schuster had 4.8 AGL, mostly from ankle injuries but also from a concussion. DeVante Parker (3.6) and Demario Douglas (2.6) rounded out the list of injured Patriots receivers.

Other notable impacted teams and players:

• Denver (19.0): Tim Patrick (Achilles, 17.0)
• Tampa Bay (18.4): Russell Gage (knee, 17.0)
• Houston (17.2): Noah Brown (groin/knee/back, 7.1) and Tank Dell (concussion/broken leg, 5.6)
• Jacksonville (11.9): Zay Jones (knee, 7.7) and Christian Kirk (groin, 4.3)
• Tennessee (10.8): Treylon Burks (knee/concussion, 6.3) and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine (hand/illness, 3.3)
• New Orleans (10.2): Michael Thomas (knee/illness, 7.5)

Once again, Buffalo (0.0) and Dallas (0.3) had the fewest injuries at a skill position, just as they did with running backs.

Tight Ends

Indianapolis was way ahead of the rest of the league with 22.2 AGL at tight end. We start with Jelani Woods missing the entire season with a hamstring tear. We also counted 2.6 AGL for Andrew Ogletree (foot) and 2.3 AGL for Kylen Granson (concussion).

Other notable impacted teams and players:

• Carolina (9.4): Hayden Hurst (concussion, 8.0)
• Arizona (9.1): Zach Ertz (quadriceps, 5.3) and Geoff Swaim (back/calf, 3.5)
• Dallas (8.5): Peyton Hendershot (ankle, 8.5)

Offensive Line

As we noted yesterday, a record number of offensive line injuries led to the Houston Texans finishing with the most AGL in the league in 2023. Yes, they had at least 10 AGL from two different linemen named “K.Green,” namely Kenyon Green and Kendrick Green.

Houston’s problems began in the preseason. Scott Quessenberry, who had been 2022’s starter at center, tore his ACL on August 3. Then left guard Kenyon Green, the 15th overall selection in 2022 draft, injured his shoulder in the final preseason game. That cost him his second NFL season.

Kenyon Green‘s replacement was going to be Kendrick Green, but he tore up his knee in Week 4. Meanwhile with Quessenberry hurt, the center job would have gone to second-round rookie Juice Scruggs, but he missed the first 11 weeks with a hamstring injury. His replacement, Jarrett Patterson, broke his leg in Week 8. Meanwhile, right tackle Tytus Howard missed the first four weeks with a hand injury and the final six weeks of the regular season with a knee injury, while left tackle Larmey Tunsil spent the whole year on the injury report with a knee injury, although he played most of the year. This doesn’t even count Houston offensive line reserves who were out for the year but do not count for AGL, such as D.J. Scaife and Kilian Zierer.

The New York Jets were second in offensive line AGL last year, losing three starters and one replacement starter for significant time. Right tackle Alijah Vera-Tucker tore his Achilles for 12.0 AGL. Left tackle Duane Brown had shoulder, hip, and back injuries, adding up to 11.1 AGL. Center Connor McGovern dislocated his kneecap and missed 10 games, while guard/center Wes Schweitzer had 9.3 AGL due to calf injuries.

Other notable impacted teams and players:

• Carolina (42.5): Brady Christensen (biceps, 16.0); Austin Corbett (knee, 13.1); Chandler Zavala (knee/neck, 7.0); and Justin McCray (calf, 4.0)
• Miami (34.8): Isaiah Wynn (quadriceps, 10.0); Terron Armstead (back/knee, 7.3); Connor Williams (groin/knee, 6.4); and Robert Hunt (hamstring, 6.3)
• Cleveland (34.3): Jack Conklin (knee, 16.0); Jedrick Wills (foot/knee, 9.3); and Dawand Jones (knee, 5.9)
• New England (30.9): Riley Reiff (knee, 16.3); Cole Strange (knee, 5.6); and Trent Brown (ankle/chest/illness, 4.0)
• New York Giants (28.0): Evan Neal (ankle, 9.1); Andrew Thomas (hamstring, 6.8); and J.C. Hassenauer (triceps, 4.0)

Three teams were below 3.0 AGL for offensive linemen: Cincinnati (0.1), Buffalo (0.4), and Denver (1.5). The Rams, who had previously set the record for offensive line AGL in 2022, had only 3.7 offensive line AGL in 2023.

Defense

Interior Defensive Line

The Arizona Cardinals were way out ahead for interior defensive line injuries with a total of 31.5 AGL, beginning with the biceps tear for L.J. Collier in Week 1 (16.0). Leki Fotu had shoulder injuries early and then went on the injured reserve list with a hand injury (5.8). Jonathan Ledbetter missed games with finger, shoulder, and knee injuries (5.6). Kevin Strong had shoulder and knee injuries (3.1).

Other notable impacted teams and players:

• Buffalo (12.8): DaQuan Jones (torn pec, 9.8)
• Atlanta (10.9): Grady Jarrett (knee, 9.0)
• Pittsburgh (9.8): Cameron Heyward (groin, 6.1) and Montravius Adams (ankle, 3.3)

Eight teams were below 1.0 AGL for interior defensive line, including Chicago which rounded to 0.0 AGL. Kansas City, Baltimore, Las Vegas, and Cleveland were at 0.1 each.

Edge Rushers

No team was above 20.0 AGL for edge rushers this year. Baltimore led the league in edge rusher AGL at 18.6. Most of that is David Ojabo with 14.0 AGL for an ankle injury that cost him most of the season but there’s also 4.3 AGL for Odafe Oweh who had his own ankle injury.

New England was next at 16.5 AGL. That’s primarily 12.3 AGL for Matthew Judon, who missed 12 games with a biceps tear.

Other notable impacted teams and players:

• Minnesota (15.2): Marcus Davenport (ankle, 13.1)
• Carolina (15.0): Justin Houston (hamstring, 7.3) and Yetur Gross-Matos (hamstring, 5.8)
• Denver (13.4): Baron Browning (knee/concussion, 7.2) and Frank Clark (hip/illness, 4.0)
• Seattle (12.4): Uchenna Nwosu (pectoral, 11.0)

Miami had 9.6 AGL for edge rushers but of course we’re not counting the playoffs here, when it seems like all their edge rushers got hurt at once.

San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Detroit had AGL for edge rushers round to 0.0. They were three of the 11 teams that had less than 1.0 AGL at the position.

Linebackers

For the second straight season, Cleveland was the leader in off-ball linebacker injuries, but their 21.7 AGL for 2023 was much lower than the 36.4 AGL they had in 2022. We had Jacob Phillips penciled in as a starter, and he missed the season with a preseason pectoral tear for the second straight year. Anthony Walker (3.4) also missed three games with a knee injury while Sione Takitaki (1.4) missed Week 7 with a hamstring issue.

Keeping things in the AFC North, Pittsburgh was next wtih 18.6 AGL from linebackers. We counted 9.0 for Cole Holcomb‘s knee injury and 8.0 for Kwon Alexander‘s Achilles tear, plus 1.6 AGL for Elandon Roberts due to various injuries.

Other notable impacted teams and players:

• New York Giants (17.9): Jarrad Davis (knee, 17.0)
• Atlanta (16.3): Troy Andersen (pectoral/concussion, 15.0)
• Carolina (16.1): Shaq Thompson (leg, 15.0)
• Philadelphia (16.0): Nakobe Dean (foot, 12.0) and Zach Cunningham (hamstring/knee, 3.4)

Baltimore, Cincinnati, and the New York Jets all had less than 1.0 AGL from off-ball linebackers.

Defensive Backs

This was a big one with five teams losing over 30 AGL to defensive back injuries and another six teams losing between 20 and 30 AGL. New England was the leader in AGL for defensive backs at 40.4, mostly for injuries to cornerbacks. Rookie Christian Gonzalez tore his shoulder labrum and missed 13 games. Marcus Jones, who probably would have started in Gonzalez’s place, also tore his labrum in the same game and missed 13 games as well. Jack Jones (6.5 AGL) was eventually cut by the Patriots and signed on with the Raiders but he missed the first six games of the season with hamstring issues. Jonathan Jones (3.5 AGL) was questionable for most of the year with an ankle injury in Weeks 2-6 and then a knee injury in Weeks 6-12 and Weeks 16-18.

Philadelphia was second with 36.8 AGL from defensive backs. Nickelback Avonte Maddox (13.0) missed most of the season with a torn pectoral suffered in Week 2. Safety Justin Evans (12.3) was lost for the season after Week 5 with a knee injury. Star cornerback Darius Slay (5.0) missed five games with knee injuries while veteran Bradley Roby (3.0), who was filling in for Maddox, was out three weeks with a shoulder injury.

Other notable impacted teams and players:

• Detroit (35.0): Emmanuel Moseley (knee, 15.5) and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson (pectoral, 14.3)
• Houston (33.4): Eric Murray (knee, 11.0); Jimmie Ward (hip/hamstring/quadriceps, 7.1); Tavierre Thomas (hand/hamstring, 6.1); and Derek Stingley (hamstring, 6.0)
• Green Bay (30.1): Eric Stokes (foot/hamstring, 14.5); Darnell Savage (calf/shoulder, 7.4); Jaire Alexander (back/shoulder, 4.0); and Rudy Ford (calf/biceps/hamstring, 3.6)
• Carolina (29.5): Jaycee Horn (hamstring/toe, 10.8); Jeremy Chinn (quadriceps, 5.3); Vonn Bell (quadriceps/shoulder, 4.3); and Xavier Woods (hamstring/thigh, 4.1)

Atlanta (1.9) had the fewest AGL for defensive backs followed by the Los Angeles Rams (3.2) and Minnesota (4.7).

Running back AGL includes a small amount of fullback AGL for San Francisco and Baltimore.