How NFL Players Take Care of Their Hands and Feet During a Brutal Season

Over the course of the lengthy and brutal N.F.L. season, gamers’ toes and arms take a beating on practically each snap. Fingers are jammed, toes are stepped on, ankles are twisted, nails are damaged.

We spoke with six N.F.L. gamers all through the 2022 season in regards to the accidents they play by means of and the way they cared for his or her arms and toes, important leverage factors wanted for each run, block, catch and kick. Their behind-the-scenes routines have been meant to assist them make it by means of the season — however didn’t fully thrust back accidents.

Sept. 10 (Week 1)

Playing tight finish means catching passes from the quarterback. But it additionally means blocking far bigger defensive linemen and getting caught in the midst of piles of gamers, which may result in jammed fingers, twisted ankles and different small however painful accidents.

“It’s normal stuff,” Dissly stated about getting stepped on. “It usually hurts pretty good for 30, 60 seconds, depending on the players who stepped on you. It feels like when you stub your toe. It happens zero to three times a game. I never would come out during a game.”

Nov. 21 (Week 11)

In mid-November, Dissly dislocated the center finger on his proper hand. He didn’t recall exactly when and the way it occurred, however he did know that he popped the joint again into place whereas within the scorching tub after a recreation.

“I remember, damn, it hurt,” Dissly stated.

Pressed for particulars, Dissly stated that he doubtless injured the finger whereas blocking on a working play. He reckons that he was attempting to get a defender’s arms off him, and his center finger went sideways when it hit the opposite participant.

“I’m in a hybrid position,” Dissly stated, referring to his function as a blocker and a receiver. “You can’t really avoid it. You can’t play in Bubble Wrap.”

A knuckle on the finger ballooned, and he used ice for a couple of days to scale back the swelling. Within about two weeks, he recovered the complete vary of movement, although the knuckle was nonetheless massive. He taped the finger to stabilize it.

“This is the time of year when your hands start hurting,” Dissly stated. “You just know how your body responds.”

Jan. 6 (Week 18)

Entering the Seahawks’ recreation with Kansas City on Christmas Eve, Dissly had set private information for catches (33), yards (330) and first downs (19). The Seahawks have been within the N.F.C. playoff hunt, too.

He added to these totals throughout the recreation, however he was banged within the knee and later positioned on the injured reserve checklist. The damage didn’t necessitate surgical procedure, however successfully ended Dissly’s season.

“I wish I could finish the season now because I was feeling really, really good but football happens and you’ve got to respond to what happens,” he stated two weeks later.

“Personally, there’s always stuff that I wish I could have back,” Dissly stated. “You know, football isn’t perfect.”

Oct. 5 (Week 5)

Dye is a throwback to the period of Willie Lanier and Dick Butkus, when linebackers have been the robust males of the locker room. No pedicures for him — he cuts his personal toenails.

“No one is touching my feet,” Dye stated. “They got different nicks and bumps. I broke my metatarsal like when I was 8 years old, and then I tore a ligament in my ankle as a rookie.”

Even as he plies his commerce within the N.F.C. North, Dye, a Southern California native, refuses to put on gloves, a selection he briefly reconsidered final season after the Vikings misplaced a January recreation to the Packers in 11-degree temperatures in Green Bay, Wis.

“It wasn’t fun,” Dye stated. “It wasn’t a good decision.”

Nov. 17 (Week 11)

Just a couple of days earlier, the Vikings had shocked the Buffalo Bills, 33-30, instantly basic that led to additional time to increase Minnesota’s file to 8-1.

“When you are winning, you’re feeling no pain,” stated Dye, who took most of his snaps with the particular groups unit that day in Orchard Park, N.Y.

He had gone by means of greater than 30 bandages every week to stave off infections from the quite a few nicks and cuts on his arms. Dye stated he is aware of the variations between being damage and injured. He broke a thumb whereas on the University of Oregon that required 4 pins, a solid and a membership for him to maintain enjoying.

By this level within the season, Dye was spending extra time within the sauna — three or 4 days each week.

Dec. 14 (Week 15)

The bandages remained on Dye. The gloves is not going to come on regardless of approaching video games in Chicago and Green Bay.

“I’m going to make it another season,” Dye stated.

Dye had a damaged index finger, nevertheless, for many of the season. Sometimes he taped it. He didn’t the earlier Sunday towards the Lions and he felt it throbbing now.

“Sometime, I just forget about it because I’m so focused,” Dye stated.

Oct. 4 (Week 5)

Jones, 33, prides himself on his sturdiness on the offensive line, the place he’s concerned in collisions, scrums and shoving matches all through each recreation. In his first 10 seasons within the league, with the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans, he missed only one recreation to damage due to a concussion sustained in 2019.

“There’s never an off day,” he stated after the Titans break up the primary 4 video games of the season. “At this point in my career, I don’t know what finger hasn’t been dislocated or broken. I wear a glove cast on my left hand because I’ve damaged the ligaments in my thumb three times. On my right hand, it’s been beaten up and it’s been fixed up.”

Jones burnished his status as a no-holds-barred battler when he confronted the division-rival Colts in Week 7. In the fourth quarter, he helped the Titans safe a 19-10 win by pushing a pile of gamers that included working again Derrick Henry, who was in a position to get a key first down.

Jones attributes a few of his success to an uncommon behavior of strolling barefoot on the sector earlier than video games, one thing he started doing in highschool to honor his older brother, Clay, who helped increase him after their father, Steve, died.

Over the years, the stroll has morphed right into a reconnaissance mission.

“It started as a ritual, but now I can see if the field’s wet out there or slippery, and the guys will ask me when I get back to the locker room,” Jones stated. “Some games, the guys need to switch cleats.”

Because Jones performs within the center, his dimension 15 toes are sometimes stepped on or his ankles can roll. Before each follow and recreation, he runs a lacrosse ball alongside the underside of his foot to loosen the muscle tissues. Then a coach “spats” his toes by taping the skin of his footwear to supply stability and the peace of mind that his laces received’t come untied.

“I wear the biggest cleats with the most protection because if my feet aren’t good, I’m no good,” he stated.

Nov. 13 (Week 10)

Jones’s toes have been the least of his worries in a victory over the Denver Broncos in Week 10, when he sustained a concussion that compelled him to overlook the subsequent two video games.

“I’m just happy to be back,” Jones advised reporters after his return. “Going through this definitely taught me some patience here. You want to be out there with your friends. They’re family to me. It hurt not being out there with them.”

By the time Jones returned in Week 13, the Titans have been within the throes of what ended as an agonizing seven-game dropping streak. Then he had a second concussion in a Week 15 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, successfully ending his season.

Sept. 28 (Week 4)

Zay Jones was feeling excellent in regards to the younger season, his first with the Jaguars after stints with the Bills and Raiders. In Week 3, he caught 10 passes for 85 yards and a landing in a blowout win over the Chargers.

But in follow a couple of days later, he was working drills and landed awkwardly, spraining an ankle and stretching the tendons in his proper foot. It was dangerous information for a participant whose job is to race downfield and reduce on a dime.

Jones’s ankle was so swollen that he couldn’t see the tendons on his foot, however he hadn’t damaged any bones.

“I tried to walk on it as normal as possible,” he stated. “I didn’t immediately put it in a boot or restrict it in any way, because I’m trying to get my mind to train my body that, ‘Oh, it’s going to be OK.’”

Jones elevated the vary of movement in his foot to the purpose the place the ache was tolerable. He did steadiness and weight-bearing workout routines like squats and continued his regular routine of loosening the muscle tissues on the soles of his toes with a ball.

“My mind-set was, what can I do to be ready to play?,” he stated. “If all I have is 80 percent, I want to make sure I can play at a high level of 80 percent.”

Oct. 30 (Week 8)

Jones returned to the sector in Week 5 in a 13-6 loss to the woeful Houston Texans. Steadily, week after week, he grew to become one in all quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s favourite targets even because the workforce continued to lose one-score video games in irritating style.

“We did unfortunately lose some games that I know we want back, but we can’t get those back,” Jones stated after the Jaguars’ 21-17 loss to the Broncos, when Lawrence threw an interception on the workforce’s ultimate drive. The Jaguars left that recreation, held at Wembley Stadium in London, with a 2-6 file.

Dec. 15 (Week 15)

Jones had profession highs of 11 catches and 145 yards in an upset of the Baltimore Ravens in late November. His emergence helped the Jaguars nudge their means into the playoff dialog.

“My ankle is feeling much better, so that’s the good news,” Jones stated after the Jaguars beat their A.F.C. South rivals, the Tennessee Titans, in mid-December. “The bad news is I kind of got the other one banged up a little bit.”

Jones stated he was damage when he stumbled into a couple of different gamers on a display play. The damage wasn’t extreme, and he didn’t miss any video games. The subsequent week Jones caught six passes for 109 yards and three touchdowns because the Jaguars shocked the Dallas Cowboys, 40-34.

In all, Jacksonville received seven of their ultimate 9 video games to seize the A.F.C. South title for the primary time in 5 seasons.

“It’s been a crazy ride for us, but it’s made such a great story,” Jones stated. “To make it this far and be healthy is a blessing.”

Oct. 11 (Week 6)

Braden Mann punts, shares kickoff duties and is the holder on subject aim makes an attempt for the Jets. His arms and toes work in live performance, however he’s not fussy about their upkeep.

Mann avoids leather-based cleats, selecting to put on low cost artificial ones: He desires his foot to be as laborious as attainable when it strikes the ball. To that finish, he wears a dimension 9 on his kicking foot regardless that he usually wears a dimension 10½.

“Game day is the hardest on my feet,” Mann stated. “They get abused because I pull the laces super tight. I don’t want any air to get between the ball and my foot. No extra room. It won’t hit my foot hard enough. After the game, you can see the indents on my feet from the laces.”

Mann avoids pedicures.

“I like the calluses that I have — inside the heel of my left foot where I push off,” he stated.

Mann kicks about 200 balls every week. He says he’s an incessant toe and knuckle popper.

Nov. 17 (Week 11)

Cold, windy climate isn’t a punter’s pal. While the Jets have been off to a 6-3 begin, Mann was spending additional time engaged on his hand-eye-foot coordination.

“When your hands are cold, they are not working as well,” Mann stated. “And when it’s windy, you hold the ball a little longer before you drop it. I’ve had a few kicks that I have wanted back, so I’m spending more time on mechanics.”

Dec. 15 (Week 15)

The Jets’ late-season struggles on offense had Mann working laborious: He was tied for fourth-busiest punter within the N.F.L., ending with 83 punts.

On Nov. 20, with 5 seconds remaining and the Jets tied with New England, 3-3, the Patriots’ Marcus Jones returned Mann’s punt 84 yards, blowing by him for the game-winning landing. Afterward, the punter lamented leaving the ball low and quick.

“It was on me,” Mann stated. “I didn’t give the cover team a chance.”

Sept. 30 (Week 4)

McKitty has downside digits. He suffers from turf toe on each of his massive ones, and he has damaged or dislocated each thumbs and each finger on both hand.

“It comes with the business,” he stated. “As a tight end, my hands are extremely important to me but at the same time at risk. I do a lot of blocking, and they get caught in pads and bang into helmets. I broke one thumb that way and the other on a catch.”

In the low season, McKitty does energy and grip work, however he believes holistic upkeep is the important thing to enduring the pains of the season.

During the season, he will get a manicure and pedicure a minimum of as soon as a month and, after every follow and recreation, warms his arms in paraffin wax for 10 to fifteen minutes to ease any ache or stiffness. He additionally will get a therapeutic massage each Monday.

“The therapist spends a lot of time on my hands and feet,” he stated.

Nov. 17 (Week 11)

In Week 4, in early October, McKitty stated he “dinged” his proper wrist in a win over the Browns. But it had no impression on what he referred to as his worst recreation of his profession towards the 49ers on Nov. 13.

McKitty is primarily a blocker who isn’t focused by quarterback Justin Herbert. That modified when tight finish Gerald Everett injured his groin within the second quarter. Herbert discovered McKitty with what would have been a 35-yard landing move — if he hadn’t dropped it. He caught simply three of his six targets, and the Chargers misplaced, 22-16.

“I felt awful,” he stated, “but I have good teammates, and they lifted me up.”

Dec. 14 (Week 15)

The Chargers have been 7-6 and simply outdoors the playoff image after Week 14. McKitty had developed blood blisters on his fingers.

“I forgot to cut my fingernails, and they got bent back,” McKitty stated.

To battle late-season fatigue, on his off days McKitty joined Chargers linebacker Kenneth Murray at a close-by swimming pool the place they did underwater workout routines.

“Just as important are the breathing exercises we do,” McKitty stated. “The point is to build stamina for a quick recovery.”

“I want to be ready for a playoff run,” he added.

The Chargers received their subsequent three video games, clinching a playoff spot for the primary time since 2018.