The Indianapolis Colts have taken a few health risks this season and had them backfire in the worst way. Quarterback Daniel Jones was playing with a broken fibula before he tore his Achilles tendon on his other leg. Ahead of Week 17, the team learned that defensive lineman DeForest Buckner will miss the rest of the season after being placed on injured reserve, too.
Buckner suffered a herniated disc in Week 9 and was placed on IR. He was able to return in Week 16 and played against the San Francisco 49ers. Unfortunately, he aggravated the injury and will require surgery. He will miss the rest of the season, which is trending toward only being two more games for Indianapolis.
The truth is, however, that neck injuries are nothing to mess around with. One could logically question whether the team should have allowed Buckner to play at all the rest of the season after he was hurt in Week 9. Neck injuries can be career-altering, sure, but they can also be life-altering.
Indianapolis Colts' DeForest Buckner has a question to ask himself in the coming offseason
Many players have been forced to retire after hurting their necks. The Seattle Seahawks, for instance, lost two players in the last decade to those types of injuries. Safety Kam Chancellor retired in 2017, and running back Chris Carson retired in 2021.
Both were younger than Buckner is currently when they decided to no longer play. It was better not to risk a further awful injury than to keep playing. Buckner will have the same question to ask himself this offseason.
In the defensive lineman's excellent career, he has earned more than $100 million in salary alone. He also would have made more in endorsements. He is 31 years old and will be 32 before next season begins. He has one year left on his current deal, and $10 million of that is guaranteed.
$10 million would be a lot to pass up, of course, and Buckner would probably earn more with incentives, but as much as he has already earned in his career, he might be able to retire now and live comfortably forever. One would assume he could.
DeForest Buckner might also believe he wants to keep playing for the Indianapolis Colts in the future. He will have surgery and should be able to recover fully before Week 1 of 2026. Hopefully, he will be healthy enough to live a very long life after football. That might mean never playing again, however.