High-profile injuries already adding up 2 games into the NFL season

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Cite

Maaddi, R. (2026, September 11). High-profile injuries already adding up 2 games into the NFL season. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/football/high-profile-injuries-already-adding-up-2-games-into-the-nfl-season/article_d484d357-8a06-53e6-97d9-17f1ef3bfa30.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Toronto Star · collected 2026-09-11 · by Rob Maaddi

Quick Summary

NFL players Sam Darnold and A.J. Brown suffered injuries during the season's first two games, with Brown likely out for several weeks due to a high-ankle sprain that could keep him sidelined from three to six games. Darnold, who played only five snaps before being replaced by Drew Lock, is expected to miss the team's next game against Arizona on September 20. The injuries have put a strain on their respective teams' offenses, with Seattle benefiting from Lock's performance and New England struggling without Brown. An MRI confirmed Brown's diagnosis, which was revealed by an anonymous source.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-11, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

The NFL season has gotten off to a tough start for several high-profile players, with A.J. Brown being sidelined for an undisclosed amount of time due to an injury, while De'Zhaun Stribling, San Francisco's top draft pick at No. 33 overall, was carted off the field after getting hurt in a game against the Los Angeles Rams. Meanwhile, Sam Darnold suffered a hip injury but got some positive news from his team's coach, who said it's just a muscle injury and that they'll have a better idea of his status for their next game against Arizona on September 20th. The Seahawks' backup quarterback Drew Lock stepped in to lead the team to a comeback win over the Patriots in a Super Bowl rematch, impressing coach Mike Macdonald with his preparation and leadership skills. This is just the second game of the NFL season, which has already seen its share of injuries to key players.

Written for “NFL Season Injuries Mounting” on 2026-10-28, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 NFL Season Injuries Mounting
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
45
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
7%
3 of 45 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-11 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Toronto Star · 9935 article(s) · 27 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 27 correction(s)
2026-10-26
Correction
2026-10-24
Correction
2026-10-07
Correction
2026-09-24
Correction

Who wrote this

Rob Maaddi
35 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Brock Purdy and the 49ers couldn’t overcome all the injuries one more time.
🔮 A sellout crowd of more than 40,000 towel-waving, cowbell-ringing fans will welcome the Rays back for Game 3 of the World Series on Monday night after a pair of gut-wrenching, one-run losses in Milwaukee.
🔮 William Contreras hit a bouncer that could’ve potentially been an inning-ending double play but it rolled into center field because Palacios was out of position going to the base, which is the right decision in that spot.
🔮 Hurts was placed on injured reserve and is expected to miss the rest of the season after a blood clot in his left calf traveled to his lungs.
🔮 TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Baker Mayfield expects to return from a thumb injury and play when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers face the Carolina Panthers on Sunday .
🔮 The hulking Díaz – he may have the biggest biceps in the majors — hit two-run homers in 7-3 victories in Games 4 and 6 against the Guardians.
🔮 “I don’t know if I could put into words right now the impact and importance he’s had to the pitchers here at the major league level, the entire pitching department throughout the organization,” manager Kevin Cash said.
🔮 The Rays will face the Milwaukee Brewers in the first matchup in which both teams are seeking their first World Series title since 1980.
🔮 TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Todd Bowles will have to be quite creative to surprise Aaron Rodgers.
🔮 Ben Williamson followed with a grounder that scooted underneath Ramírez’s glove and between his legs after the ball hit the edge where the artificial turf met the infield dirt.
Also by Rob Maaddi
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 35 articles by Rob Maaddi →

Topics

NFL New England Patriots Seattle Super Bowl

Subjects

Brown PERSON · 6× Darnold PERSON · 5× Patriots ORG · 5× NFL ORG · 3× Stribling PERSON · 3× Lock PERSON · 2× Macdonald PERSON · 2× Maye PERSON · 2× New England ORG · 2× Seattle GPE · 2×

Narrative

Stribling, who was San Francisco’s top draft pick in April at No. 33 overall, limped off the field after running a route in the second quarter of a 27-7 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-11
🔮 A.J. Brown will be sidelined for a while.
2026-09-11 · Toronto Star
High-profile injuries already adding up 2 games into the NFL season · assertive framing

Claims (45 extracted, 3 hedged)

Sam Darnold played just five snaps. asserted
Darnold → play → snaps
A.J. Brown will be sidelined for a while. asserted
Brown → sideline → while
De’Zhaun Stribling was carted off the field. asserted
Stribling → cart → field
High-profile injuries are adding up just two games into the NFL season. asserted
injuries → add → season
It’s not even Sunday yet. asserted
It → ’ → ?
Darnold got good news about his hip injury. asserted
Darnold → get → injury
Stribling’s status wasn’t immediately known. asserted
status → know → ?
“It’s been positive news,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said Thursday about Darnold. asserted
Macdonald → say → Darnold
“Right now we’re just working through the extent of the injury and put a plan in place to get back rocking and rolling.” asserted
we → work → place
Macdonald called it a muscle injury for Darnold near his hip and that the team would have a better idea of his status for the game against Arizona on Sept. 20 when practice resumes next week. asserted
practice → call → Sept.
Drew Lock replaced Darnold and led Seattle to a 13-10 comeback win over New England in a Super Bowl rematch Wednesday night. asserted
Lock → replace → rematch
Lock proved he’s a capable backup so the defending Super Bowl champions won’t have to rush Darnold back to face the Cardinals. asserted
champions → prove → Cardinals
“He’s been tremendous,” Macdonald said about Lock. asserted
Macdonald → say → Lock
“He operates like a starter does in terms of preparation. asserted
starter → operate → preparation
The chemistry and the personality of our quarterback room is one that is very supportive of each other and also trying to bring out the best in one another. asserted
that → try → one
Drew provides a cool, confident, loose and focusedness to the whole equation, which you need — you need that. asserted
you → provide → that
On top of that, since he’s got here, he’s played great football in practice and in the preseason. asserted
he → get → preseason
We saw what he could do last night. uncertain
he → see → what
If he has to play again then we expect the same moving forward.” The Patriots won’t have Brown for a while after the star wide receiver went down in the second half against Seattle. asserted
receiver → have → Seattle
He has a high-ankle sprain and will miss several games, a person with knowledge of his injury told The Associated Press on Thursday night. asserted
person → have → night
The person, speaking on condition of anonymity because the Patriots haven’t announced the severity of Brown’s injury, said an MRI confirmed the diagnosis. asserted
MRI → speak → diagnosis
Brown could miss anywhere from three to six games, depending on the way his ankle responds to treatment. uncertain
ankle → miss → treatment
Without Brown, New England’s offense fizzled. asserted
offense → fizzle → Brown
The Patriots went three-and-out twice and then Drake Maye threw three straight interceptions. asserted
Maye → go → interceptions
“I wish life was like that, where you could wait for your guys to come back and be healthy again but, it’s NFL football,” Patriots veteran receiver Mack Hollins said. uncertain
Hollins → wish → that
New England traded a 2028 first-round pick to Philadelphia in the deal for Brown to give Maye a top playmaker. asserted
England → trade → playmaker
The Patriots have a tough schedule coming up with three games against three 2025 playoff teams. asserted
Patriots → have → teams
They’ll host Pittsburgh on Sept. 20, and visit Jacksonville and Buffalo. asserted
They → host → Jacksonville
“You’ve got to stick together and that starts with me getting back to work and having the right intention in practice,” Maye said. asserted
Maye → get → practice
I think they’ve done a great job in supporting me and have had my back. asserted
they → think → back
I’ve got to earn their trust. asserted
I → get → trust
I know I have their trust, but I got to keep on putting better football out there. asserted
I → know → football
I think it’s Week 1 but at the same time, there’s a full season ahead but you got to get this going early. asserted
this → think → time
We got to start off on the right foot. asserted
We → got → foot
I know what we had last year, but we got a new season, a new team, and we need to build that.” asserted
we → know → that
Stribling, who was San Francisco’s top draft pick in April at No. 33 overall, limped off the field after running a route in the second quarter of a 27-7 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night. asserted
who → limp → night
He left the game on a cart and was quickly ruled out for the game. asserted
He → leave → game
The 49ers signed veteran Mike Evans and brought back Deebo Samuel but were counting on Stribling after losing Ricky Pearsall for the season in the summer. asserted
49ers → sign → summer
Tight end Jake Tonges also didn’t return for San Francisco after injuring his knee. asserted
Tonges → return → knee
Rams linebacker Nate Landman got hurt late in the game. asserted
Landman → hurt → game
…and 5 more, not listed.
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