Bengals RB Zack Moss reveals his season-ending injury from 2024 could've been a whole lot worse originally appeared on A to Z Sports.
Zack Moss hasn't practicing yet with the Cincinnati Bengals this training camp, but just being with the team after last year should be considered a big win for the 27-year old running back.
Moss' 2024 season was cut short after eight games when he was placed on Injured Reserve with a neck injury. It's the main reason why he had to take a pay cut to stay on the team this offseason, and his placement on the Non-Football Injury list to start camp.
The details of said injury, however, reveal how last season could've ended a lot differently.
Zack Moss reveals his neck injury could've been a lot worse
Moss first felt something wrong during Cincinnati's home loss against the Philadelphia Eagles, eight weeks into the season. He told The Athletic's Paul Dehner Jr. that "losing feeling" in his arm prompted tests to be ran, which determined his neck was broken in three different places.
And it happened all the way back in Week 1.
“We never had any tell outside of my neck just being really sore," Moss told Dehner. That’s the thing people don’t know. I haven’t really spoken about it because I really don’t care too much. Team didn’t know. I didn’t know it was broken. That’s the part where I say, so many different variables. If I knew my neck was broken, I probably wouldn’t have played.”
Nothing short of a terrifying revelation. Two months of NFL football with a broken neck and playing like nothing was really awry could've led to a catastrophic situation. Moss said he contemplated retirement, but reached a decision to rehab and come back.
Part of rehab, according to Dehner, was avoiding movement to allow his neck to heal. Missing valuable time conditioning is the reason why he's on the NFI list instead of the Physically Unable to Perform list, where players injured from the previous year almost always end up this time of year.
In more ways than one, Moss' case is different.
The Bengals guaranteed Moss $375,000 when reworking his two-year contract back in April. That alone should keep him around for the next month, but beyond that is anyone's guess. He may be able to practice again after getting football-ready in time, or the start of the season just may not be in the cards for him.
That he's okay at all is wonderful news on its own.
