NFL Injury Updates for Remaining Playoff Teams Ahead of Divisional Round

Wild-card weekend brought a lot of excitement, but also resulted in some unfortunate injuries.

49ers tight end George Kittle was one of the NFL’s biggest names to suffer an injury during wild-card weekend. / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The divisional round of the NFL playoffs is nearly fully set after some of the most thrilling games in recent memory. Wild-card weekend delivered as four of the five games came down to the wire.

These highly contested matchups unfortunately resulted in quite a few injuries across the playoff teams. Some of these injuries will have an impact on the winning teams as they advance to the divisional round this upcoming weekend.

Here’s a reminder of all the players injured during the wild-card weekend, including whether they are expected to play this weekend or not.

Injury round-up for remaining playoff teams

Los Angeles Rams

The Rams held off the Panthers from making a huge upset on Saturday by winning, 34–31. Los Angeles secured the victory with an injured Matthew Stafford. The quarterback suffered a finger injury on his throwing hand during the game, but didn’t miss time. After the game, Stafford and coach Sean McVay both sounded concerned about the injury, but the quarterback’s X-rays came back negative.

On Monday, McVay shared that Stafford sprained his index finger on his throwing hand but is good to go vs. the Bears on Sunday.

Los Angeles didn’t have offensive lineman Kevin Dotson, receiver Jordan Whittington, tight end Terrance Ferguson and cornerback Josh Wallace available for Saturday’s game, and their statuses remain up in the air for the divisional round.

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Chicago Bears

Saturday’s electric 31–27 Bears win over the Packers unfortunately saw two Chicago defensive players suffer season-ending injuries. Linebacker T.J. Edwards was carted off the field in an air cast as he’s believed to have fractured his fibula. Left tackle Ozzy Trapilo also left the game after suffering a patellar tendon injury. Defensive tackle Andrew Billings left the game with a hip injury, and his status moving forward is questionable.

Chicago was already without safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, defensive end Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga in Saturday’s game, and there’s a chance these three players will also miss the divisional round matchup vs. the Rams. It appears that the Bears will have a pretty banged-up defense on Sunday.

Buffalo Bills

The Bills came back to beat the Jaguars, 24–20, thanks to a game-winning drive led by quarterback Josh Allen in the final minutes of Sunday’s contest. However, this victory came with a few injuries for Buffalo. Allen himself was checked for a concussion during the game, but was given the clear. He also appeared to bang up his knee, foot and fingers. However, the quarterback is expected to play vs. the Broncos on Saturday.

The biggest loss on Sunday was when receiver Gabe Davis was carted off the field because of a knee injury. Coach Sean McDermott shared on Monday that Davis suffered a torn ACL and is out for the postseason. Receiver Tyrell Shavers also left the game for a knee injury, but was able to return. Safety Jordan Poyer missed the second half of Sunday’s game after he suffered a hamstring strain. He could be doubtful to play in the divisional round.

The Bills were already without running back Ty Johnson as he was seen with his ankle in a boot. Additionally, linebacker Terrel Bernard, cornerback Maxwell Hairston and safety Damar Hamlin all missed the contest with injuries. We’ll see if they’re able to return this weekend.

San Francisco 49ers

Arguably the biggest injury news to come out of wild-card weekend was 49ers tight end George Kittle suffering an Achilles tear vs. the Eagles. He is officially out for the remainder of the postseason.

Safety Ji’Ayir Brown also left Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury, making him questionable for Saturday’s matchup vs. the Seahawks.

The injury bug continuously bit San Francisco throughout the entire 2025 season. Despite all the odds stacked against them, the 49ers found a way to push through to reach the divisional round. The team already didn’t have Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, Mykel Williams, Ricky Pearsall or Brandon Aiyuk available on Sunday. Warner, Bosa, Williams and Aiyuk are all on the injured reserve list. Even if the 49ers are down multiple players on Saturday, that hasn’t stopped them before from being victorious.

New England Patriots

The Patriots won 16–3 in a barnburner against the Chargers on Sunday night. The biggest injury news to come out of the game was New England linebacker Christian Gonzalez leaving with a head injury. He did not return to the game. Gonzalez told reporters afterwards that he felt “fine,” so that gives some hope for him to be available on Sunday night vs. the Steelers or the Texans.

New England has added four players to the injured reserve list in the past month, all of whom would likely not play in the divisional round: running back Terrell Jennings, defensive tackle Joshua Farmer, receiver Mack Hollins and cornerback Alex Austin.

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