Former Louisville football running back, Bilal Powell, will miss the rest of the season after suffering a neck injury.
Through seven weeks of the NFL season New York Jets running back, Bilal Powell, was off to a great start . But after suffering a neck injury this past weekend in the Jets loss to the Minnesota Vikings, the Jets placed the former Louisville star on injured reserve.
Though his season is over, it seemed like the neck injury suffered during the game was nothing that would cause any problems in the future for Powell. However, when speaking at a press conference today, Jets Head Coach, Todd Bowles, sang a bit of a different tune.
When talking to the local media Bowles said that Powell would undergo surgery to repair his injured neck, one that could “possibly be career ending.” Bowles said there was no chance that the veteran running back would return from the injury this season, and compared the injury to one suffered by wide receiver Quincy Enunwa last season, but called it “more serious.”
Wow. Todd Bowles says Bilal Powell requires season-ending surgery on his neck, that’s why he’s on IR. Says it could be career-ending. It’s more serious than the one Enunwa suffered last year.
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) October 24, 2018
This is the second serious neck injury suffered by a former Cardinal in the last two seasons. If you remember last year former Cardinal offensive lineman, Eric Wood, suffered a neck injury during the team’s first round playoff matchup which forced him into early retirement after just eight seasons in the NFL.
Powell is in his seventh season, all of which he has played with the New York Jets. If the running back is forced to retire, his career will have been nothing short of incredible.
After being a three star recruit during the Steve Kragthorpe era, Bilal Powell emerged as a workhorse running back for Charlie Strong and finished his career with over 5,000 all purpose yards.
Drafted in the 4th round back in 2011, Powell has put together seven solid seasons as a do it all running back for the Jets. He’s currently totaled 3,446 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns rushing along with another 1,000 yards and 5 touchdowns receiving.
When Powell bounces back from this injury, something I fully expect him to do (if the doctors allow) he will hit the free agent market and will likely be able to catch on with a contending team. At 29 years old, Powell has never been an every down back and had shown this season that he was as fresh as ever.
The entire team at Big Red Louie sends their prayers for a speedy recovery to the Cardinal forever.