The Four Key Injuries That Overshadowed the First Full Day of NFL Training Camps

It’s been an exciting start to NFL training camp so far. We’ve seen the Drake Maye-to-A.J. Brown connection slowly take shape, two Browns star defenders receive well-earned contract extensions, Josh Allen remind everyone of his rocket right arm and Travis Kelce report for a 14th season.

Unfortunately, the return of football also brings with it the return of injuries. Not only have a large handful of players begun training camp on either the PUP or NFI list, but others have already suffered ailments throughout this week’s first wave of practices.

RELATED: NFL Training Camp 2026 Live Updates: Injuries Piling Up Around the League

From star defenders in the trenches to a quarterback looking for a bounce-back opportunity, here are four unfortunate injuries that have overshadowed an otherwise thrilling start to the 2026 season.

Chris Brazzell II, Carolina Panthers

The Panthers were one of two teams—the other being the Cardinals—to report to training camp early ahead of the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, and have already seen two of their young players suffer injuries. The first was second-year edge rusher Nic Scourton, who suffered a torn ACL during Carolina’s first practice over the weekend. Then, during Wednesday afternoon’s session in Charlotte, rookie wide receiver Chris Brazzell II was carted off the field after suffering a non-contact knee injury.

According to The Athletic’s Joe Person, Brazzell suffered a “moderate LCL tear” in his left knee and is expected to miss up to eight weeks. Person added that the injury is unrelated to the earlier knee issue the wide receiver was dealing with that caused him to miss several practices due to soreness.

Brazzell, 22, was selected by the Panthers in the third round of the 2026 NFL draft and is competing alongside Tet McMillan, Jalen Coker and Xavier Legette in a crowded wide receiver room in Carolina.

Bryan Bresee, New Orleans Saints

Just one day after reporting for his fourth NFL training camp, Bryan Bresee’s season may already be over.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garofolo, the defensive tackle is believed to have suffered a torn ACL at Saints practice on Wednesday. “While tests are ongoing,” the insider wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “It’s likely [Bresee] is done for the season.”

Described by Rapoport as one of New Orleans’s linchpins of defense, Bresee was a first-round pick in 2023, and has tallied 86 total tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 14.5 sacks, 12 passes defensed and two forced fumbles over his first three NFL seasons.

Shemar Stewart, Cincinnati Bengals

It’s been a rollercoaster start to Shemar Stewart’s young NFL career, to say the least. After a public standoff last summer saw the Bengals’ 2025 first-round pick finally sign his contract in late-July, Stewart played in just eight games as a rookie as he dealt with both ankle and knee injuries.

Unfortunately, 2026 isn’t going much better for the 22-year-old, as he suffered a left leg injury at training camp practice on Wednesday and was carted off the field. While the severity of the injury has yet to be determined, Stewart underwent imaging and was later spotted in a leg brace and on crutches, according to ESPN’s Ben Baby.

The Bengals did their part this offseason to bolster their defensive front, signing both Boye Mafe and Jonathan Allen in free agency and trading for Dexter Lawrence II from the Giants. We’ll now have to wait and see if Stewart will be part of that deep front-seven rotation in ’26.

Tua Tagovailoa, Atlanta Falcons

Tua Tagovailoa is dealing with a back injury. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Falcons are off to a less-than-ideal start to the Kevin Stefanski era, as Bijan Robinson is holding in amid contract negotiations and neither quarterback competing for the starting job is fully healthy.

We already knew that Michael Penix Jr. would need time to rehab from the torn ACL he suffered last season (he clarified on Wednesday that it may be another four weeks until he’s ready for team drills), but Tua Tagovailoa’s injury? That one came as a surprise.

According to Stefanski, the former Dolphins signal-caller is dealing with “something that flared up” and will be back sooner rather than later. ESPN’s Adam Schefter later clarified that it’s a back injury that Tagovailoa is dealing with.

In response to the two injuries, and with quarterback Trevor Siemian also being waived on Wednesday with a non-football injury, Atlanta signed veteran Cooper Rush as an additional arm. For now? It’s undrafted rookie Jack Strand taking first-team reps.

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