Football has always been a violent game, plagued with injuries, but the 2017 season has seen an unprecedented amount of players go down with season-ending injuries, including several star players around the league.  Below are several notable players who are likely out for the season due to their injuries.

Odell Beckham Jr.: Beckham, one of the top wide receivers in the league, broke his ankle, requiring season-ending surgery during Week 5 of the NFL season.  In his first two seasons, he has set all sorts of records and won Rookie of the Year in 2015.  His absence is a big reason for the New York Giants disastrous season.

Aaron Rodgers: Ever since taking over for Hall of Famer Brett Favre, Rodgers has been one of the top quarterbacks in the league.  He has won NFL MVP twice and has won the Super Bowl once.  A broken collarbone in Week 6 and the Packers’ inability to win without him shows that he is a premier quarterback.

David Johnson: Johnson was expected to be one of the best running backs coming into the 2017 season.  Coming off a season in which he had 100 yards from scrimmage in each of the first 15 games, expectations were high for Johnson.  However, after breaking his wrist Week 1, his hopes of having two straight historic seasons were ended.

J.J. Watt: Over the course of his career, Watt has established himself as the best defensive player in the league, winning the Defensive Player of the Year award three times in his first five seasons.  Watt’s broken leg is definitely going to hurt the Texans’ strong defense.

Deshaun Watson: Watson was having a fabulous rookie season after throwing 19 touchdowns in his first five games, making him a clear front-runner for Rookie of the Year.  However, a torn ACL in practice will put this rookie phenom on hold until next season.

Richard Sherman: The Seahawks, led by Sherman, have had one of the best defenses for the last five years and arguably one of the best of all time. This defense has won Seattle one Super Bowl already and the absence of Sherman, along with Earl Thomas, is going to hurt their chances for a second Super Bowl run.

Greg Olsen: Olsen, a Wayne Hills alumnus, has established himself as one of the best tight ends in the NFL over the past few seasons.  Olsen broke his foot in Week 2 but does expect to return to the Panthers in Week 12 as they make a playoff push.

Joe Thomas: Coming into this season, Thomas had an unheard-of record: for ten plus seasons, Thomas has been on the field for every single offensive snap, 10,363 in total.  At his position of offensive tackle, where so many guys get injured, playing this many straight plays is amazing.  However, after tearing his triceps, he is out for the season and could be looking at an end to his career.  The disastrous Browns are certainly going to miss his strong presence on the line.

Along with these injuries, new evidence is coming out about NFL players and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).  Jacob Park, a junior said, “the number of athletes that are now emerging with CTE is definitely alarming, but I would not say that it’s surprising.”