Hard to watch: NFL history's most grisly injuries

Legendary Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi was quoted in the book Sports in America as saying, "Football isn't a contact sport. Dancing is a contact sport. Football is a collision sport."

The National Football League is a league full of fast plays, highlight reels, and big-hitting that have caused some of the worst injuries in sports.

There have been some pretty gruesome injuries over the years. Some were simply plays, and others were freak accidents.

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Here are some of the worst injuries in NFL history that either resulted in the ending of their career or a sustained number of months on the sideline.

One of the most gruesome and well-known NFL injuries is the compound fracture sustained to the leg of former Washington Commanders quarterback Joe Theismann after being tackled by Lawrence Taylor.

Picture – YouTube @NFL GAME TIME

The New York Giants linebacker dragged the quarterback down and fell onto his leg, 'Snapping it like a breadstick.' The injury was so bad that it ended his career altogether.

Wide receiver Johnny Knox managed three seasons in the NFL before his career was cut short following a fumble against the Seattle Seahawks.

Knox crashed into Seattle's Anthony Hargrove, sustaining a terrible spinal cord injury that forced him to retire. Even today, Knox walks with a limp and struggles to stand up without discomfort.

One of the most historically defining injuries in the sport came in 1978 as wide receiver Darryl Stingley was hit with both speed and purpose by defensive back Jack Tatum.

The terrifying hit compressed his spinal cord and broke his fourth and fifth cervical vertebrae. Stingley spent the rest of his life a quadriplegic and forced the NFL to change its rules on aggressive plays.

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In an almost identical injury to Theismann, Alex Smith suffered a compound fracture that broke his right tibia and fibula after being sacked by two Houston Texans defenders.

Things went from bad to worse for Alex Smith after he developed a flesh-eating bacterium that nearly resulted in the loss of his lower leg to stay alive. Luckily, after 17 surgeries to save his leg, Smith miraculously returned to the NFL 20 months later.

Destry 'D-Train' Wright's NFL career ended before it officially started, having suffered a broken leg and dislocated ankle in a pre-season game for the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Dallas Cowboys.

Picture – X @The 1400 Klub

The former Jackson State running back's injury was so severe that while he lay stomach down on the floor, his ankle pointed up at the sky on the field. Wright never played another minute of NFL football.

Picture – X @Tiger Talk with the 1400 Klub

Former Arizona Cardinals safety Rashad Johnson had an unbelievable injury in 2013, losing the top of his finger under his gloves against the New Orleans Saints.

Johnson still has no idea how he lost the top of his finger during the game but took his glove off after covering a punt. He underwent surgery to shave his bone and returned shortly after.

These injuries have all had a lasting impact on the NFL as we know it, with the league becoming much safer to play in after the introduction of tighter defensive rules.

Perhaps the most jarring injury in recent memory involved Tua Tagovailoa's concussion against the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022. His body entered the "fencing position" after impact with the ground, and the Miami Dolphins quarterback had to be hospitalized as a result.

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Concussion concerns and questions have followed Tagovailoa since that fateful night, as the passer has continued to suffer brain injuries throughout the course of his career.