Week 1 Injury Roundup: Jon Beason likely out for the season

Carolina is bracing itself for the worst after Jon Beason's Week 1 injury. (ZUMAPRESS.com)

A day-after update on the notable injuries suffered in Week 1:

Cam Newton was pretty good Sunday, you might have heard, and Panthers fans should feel pretty good about that. But in the wake of Carolina's 28-21 loss to the Cardinals Sunday, that enthusiasm should be curbed by the news that linebacker Jon Beason is likely out for the year after suffering an Achilles injury in the game.

Beason was set to undergo an MRI Monday, but reports say the Panthers fear that Beason's injury is a torn Achilles'. Indeed, Ron Rivera called Beason's situation "dire" on Sunday night. The fifth-year star missed weeks of training camp after surgery to correct an Achilles injury, and there is some concern that the Panthers rushed him back into action for the season opener a little too early. Sunday's game came less than three weeks after Beason's surgery.

Despite Newton's heroics on Sunday, Beason is Carolina's best player. After the contest, his teammates spoke reverentially about him.

  “I’m just happy and honored to be on this team because we had guys out there that were blowing out tires to fight,” wide receiver Steve Smith said of Beason. “It doesn’t get any better than that. You don’t get guys in the locker room like that. It rarely comes and when you have a guy who does that you surely miss him, but he’s admirable for his effort and I’m honored and pleased to be his teammate.”

While the end of Peyton Manning's start streak got more attention (and, of course, understandably so), Beason's strung together an impressive 65 straight starts at a physically demanding position. He signed a five-year, $50 million extension with the Panthers over the summer.

In other news...

• The Chiefs lost a defensive playmaker of their own Sunday after safety Eric Berry tore his ACL. Call that injury added to insult in the Chiefs' blowout loss to the Bills. Berry made a huge impact for the Chiefs in his rookie year, especially in the playoffs, and looked poised to repeat his Pro Bowl status in 2011. Instead, he'll join Tony Moeaki as impact players on the Chiefs' IR.

• The Rams suffered a number of injuries against the Eagles, but the most costly appears to be Danny Amendola's. The safety valve for Sam Bradford will miss 8-10 weeks with what seemed like an elbow injury, according to John Clayton. There are no updates to injuries suffered by Sam Bradford or Steven Jackson, but the tenor surrounding each player is markedly different. Bradford expressed optimism after the game, while there are worries about how Jackson will be hampered by a quad injury, obviously a troublesome one for a running back.
• Andy Dalton says he lost feeling in his right wrist after getting hit by Browns rookie defensive tackle Phil Taylor, but that he expects to play in Week 2 against the Broncos.
• As if the Cowboys' late collapse against the Jets Sunday night wasn't bad enough, the team lost starting corner Orlando Scandrick for 3-4 weeks with an ankle injury. The Cowboys could ill afford to lose another corner after getting through the preseason with scant depth. Terence Newman is already hurt, and Mike Jenkins missed parts of Sunday night's game as well.
• The Chargers lost two key contributors for the season Sunday when kicker Nate Kaeding tore his ACL and defensive end Luis Castillo fractured his tibia. The Chargers have enough depth to withstand the injury from a numbers standpoint, but Castillo's effectiveness will be hard to replace.

-- Tom Mantzouranis