The NFL regular season kicks off on September 9, and with a little over a month to go, teams across the league are ramping up preparations in training camp to build a strong roster. However, the injury plague has already entered the NFL training camps for a few teams in a day. Many key players suffered major setbacks during practices, raising early concerns about roster depth and season readiness.

The worst hit has been for Kansas City, which suffered a dual blow in one day. Kansas City Chiefs rookie wide receiver Cyrus Allen was diagnosed with a left- leg shin bruise after being carted off the field during Saturday’s training camp practice.

“I hate to see somebody get hurt, especially on a special teams drill,” said Dave Toub, the Chiefs’ special teams coordinator, to ESPN on August 1 in a press conference after the practice. “We’ll see how he is. He’s really doing well on offense, and he’s doing well for me too. He’s at gunner and returner, and he’s doing a real good job, putting himself in a good position to be a guy that’s going to help us this year.”

During a special teams “pooch punt” drill, Allen was acting as a gunner when he heavily collided with fellow gunner cornerback Kaiir Elam. While Elam walked away uninjured, Allen remained face-down on the turf for roughly a minute. He required help from two staffers to reach the medical tent and could not put weight on his left leg. Observers noted a highly visibly frustrated Allen shaking his head and covering his face as he was carted away to the indoor training facility, sparking fears of a severe knee injury or ACL tear. 

It was a rather sad injury, as this was supposed to be Allen’s first season after being the 5th draft pick by the Kansas City in 2026. He has been an undisputed breakout star of early training camp, and this can be a deadly blow for the franchise.

“Anytime you have a rookie, everybody is on special teams until they aren’t, until they establish themselves, whether it’s a starter on offense or defense,” Toub said. “Then you have to kind of pull back and maybe take them off two or three phases. But initially, everybody starts as a four-phase guy. That’s just the way we do it. It’s worked over the years.”

Allen wasn’t the only one to be wheeled out of the field; another player suffered a similar fate during Saturday’s practice. Xavier Worthy injured his right shoulder after making a diving catch near the goal line on a pass from Patrick Mahomes. He hit the turf shoulder-first and had cornerback Kader Kohou roll on top of him. Eventually, the medical team had to step in and cart him out.

This collision triggered a long-held memory for Worthy, as he had suffered a very similar injury in the 2025 season. That time it was a season opener where he collided with Travis Kelce. Worthy had to undergo surgery to repair a torn labrum resulting from that prior injury in this offseason. Fans are worried about what this might be for his upcoming season. As of now, the situation seems to be under control. Head coach Andy Reid is expected to provide an official update on Monday on the severity of the blow. 

Kansas City isn’t the only one under pressure on depth charts after suffering two major blows. The Buffalo Bills are also in the same boat. Their safety, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, was also carted out during the Bills’ practice on Saturday. He suffered a noncontact injury to his lower right leg. Gardner-Johnson went down during an 11-on-11 team drill while practicing at St. John Fisher University.

After roughly 10 minutes in the medical tent, where athletic trainers assessed his Achilles and calf area, he was seen limping towards the locker room. For now, he is scheduled for an MRI.

“I walked up to him, and I told him, ‘Are you all right? Take care of yourself. Can you walk?'” Deion Dawkins said after practice to ESPN on August 1. “And he got up, and he did his thing. He could put weight on his legs so he could walk. So we all know that injury is 100% in this league, but he’s all right.

“And I got the message from coaches that he’s all right and they’re going to do their protocol. He’ll get whatever he has to get, and he’ll be right back in the loop. But C.J. is OK, but it’s a scary thing. C.J. is a d*g, as we all know. So if anybody’s going to push through something the right way, it’d be C.J.”

If he misses time, Buffalo’s next man up is rookie free-agent safety Geno Stone, who stepped into team drills right after the injury. The Bills also have Damar Hamlin and Taylor Rapp in the safety room, which gives them experienced options while they wait for imaging or a formal update on Gardner-Johnson’s status.

Gardner-Johnson signed a one-year deal this spring, so his role as a versatile defensive back and special-teams contributor makes him valuable in camp reps. A short absence would shift more snaps to Stone and the other veterans, and it would also reduce the variety of coverage looks Buffalo can run while they evaluate his recovery.

It is too soon for the teams to lose their players to injuries. Teams would have been extra cautious, seeing that the ratio of this happening is increasing.