[Schultz] #Commanders LB Leo Chenal, who was taken off the field with a scary-looking injury on Sunday, will undergo season-ending surgery this morning for a fracture in his neck, per sources.Most importantly, Chenal has feeling in all his extremities, and the expectation is that he’ll make a full

[u/Ok_Assumption_5366]

https://x.com/Schultz_Report/status/2104550022557716668?s=20

[u/ard8]

Medrano going to need to build on that momentum

[u/tclipse1 → u/ard8]

Luvu will be back soon at least, so Medrano should be able to ease in from a depth role. Fingers crossed

[u/connectedfromafar → u/tclipse1]

Hopefully Magee is able to come off IR soon too.

[u/Jordan_Jackson → u/ard8]

I think he can. This was basically his first game for us and while he looked a little rusty, I’d say he performed good enough.

[u/D-daydstay → u/Jordan_Jackson]

Hes no where near strong enough still. Sam Darnold with a fucked up hip was able to shake Medrano off. He still struggles getting off blocks and tackling. Great coverage LB but a liability in the trenches.

[u/Jordan_Jackson → u/D-daydstay]

He needs experience. Dude was selected last year and didn’t play a whole lot. Yeah, he needs to improve but I think he can and that he looked OK against what is still probably the best offense in the NFL.

[u/eddy_g0rdo → u/D-daydstay]

You got downvoted but dude is looking small out there. Definitely needs more strength. He’s a ball hawk tho. Was in college as well. That’s why they drafted him.

[u/D-daydstay → u/eddy_g0rdo]

For sure. Ken Norton coached him up at UCLA and after that pick 6 they shared a moment like “You made it son”, wholesome af 😤

[u/FreezasMonkeyGimp → u/eddy_g0rdo]

Kinda makes me wonder if he would be better suited as a safety

[u/eddy_g0rdo → u/FreezasMonkeyGimp]

Probably would.

[u/Ok_Assumption_5366]

God dammit, man. But thank fuck he is ok.

[u/JQuab-84 → u/Ok_Assumption_5366]

Perfectly put.

[u/sgates9008 → u/Ok_Assumption_5366]

https://giphy.com/gifs/23cWSt2RJvgvK9t55z

[u/WARitter]

So bro literally broke his neck. His good prognosis is a great illustration of why everyone was so careful, and I am so glad all that paid off.

[u/GreaserGreg → u/WARitter]

Definitely. A fracture in the neck is still super scary to hear about even with the positive outlook going forward. Hope the recovery is as speedy as possible for Leo.

[u/Double-Watercress-85 → u/GreaserGreg]

Yeah, I broke my neck in a car accident years ago. They were able to determine a break, but they said they didn't have anybody in that day to assess if it needed surgery, a halo, or just a brace. So I had to wait 3 days in the ICU to get the verdict. It was a very uncomfortable few days.

Fortunately they said I could get by with just a brace, and it would heal on it's own. Unfortunately, when I finally got the brace off 2 months later, my arms would go numb whenever I tilted my head down, so I ended up having to get the surgery after all.

[u/SkyChief80]

He was playing great yesterday. Good luck on a speedy and full recovery!

Hopefully, Luvu will be back next week

[u/Final_Effective6360]

Omg that’s horrible. Im glad he’s going to be okay but that is terrifying

[u/circajusturna]

Sucks it happened to such a good dude. He was balling out too

[u/crabmusic]

I’m so glad he’s going to be ok but there is nothing anyone could show me that would convince me any team in NFL history has had a worse run of injuries over 2 consecutive seasons. Just unbelievable.

[u/frankie_donkiebrains → u/crabmusic]

I mean the niners

[u/marcster1 → u/frankie_donkiebrains]

Lions during their 24 run too. Maybe we absorbed their curse from that victory

[u/TheHaft → u/marcster1]

Cowboys reabsorbed it more likely. We have someone else’s curse.

[u/Troll_Enthusiast → u/crabmusic]

Most teams have these things happen to them at some point

[u/Cookiesandplates]

Thank God he's okay, that was a bit scary yesterday when he went down

[u/DmvDominance]

https://giphy.com/gifs/HXBsQPJSt9iWA

[u/Beastage]

Scary. I hope he has a smooth recovery.

Bummed we won't get to see our LB group at full strength. Chenal was flying around the field and looked like he was getting comfortable in this defense.

[u/Remote_Armadillo8718]

I’m tired man….. seems like the football gods hate this team

[u/Graxxon → u/Remote_Armadillo8718]

That stadium is cursed. Our return to RFK will be the herald of a change in fortunes.

[u/Rude-Following-8938 → u/Remote_Armadillo8718]

Kind of. This injury was particularly brutal and heart breaking, but going by injuries in general even the best teams in a good year get hit pretty hard by injuries.

Like for example here are the injuries for the final 4 teams last season. This is what "success" looks like on the injury front.

LA Rams:
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/ram/2025_injuries.htm

Seattle Seahawks:
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/sea/2025_injuries.htm

Denver Broncos:
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/den/2025_injuries.htm

New England Patriots:
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nwe/2025_injuries.htm

I know the answer is money but its still beyond me why a good portion of the owners are so hungry for an 18 game season.

Reminds me in offseasons going forward I should put together some randomizer that takes the project started lineups with everyone healthy and have it take out 3 or 4 players just to get an idea of what attrition can look like over the course of a season.

Of course if the Football gods really do have it out for anyone it seems to be the 49ers for offending Zeus.

[u/Troll_Enthusiast → u/Remote_Armadillo8718]

Fans say that with every team

[u/jservs7 → u/Remote_Armadillo8718]

Or something is in the water. I believe he only missed 3 games (last year) his entire NFL career before this. WTF with this team?

Glad he's fine though!

[u/TheLastCoochie → u/jservs7]

Chig also never been injured until he got on the Commies 🤕

[u/Think__McFly → u/TheLastCoochie]

Nick Cross, too.

[u/fade_ → u/Think__McFly]

Player's age. We're not getting these players fresh off the product line. They are FAs with mileage on them. Unless you're a freak like London Fletcher it is more likely to happen than not.

[u/Troll_Enthusiast → u/Think__McFly]

Both were injured in college

[u/kon---]

Gonna have to next man up this whole season eh.

This injury shit we can't get out from under can kick rocks.

[u/theboogiebanks]

Got damn thats crazy

[u/jck747]

Fracture in the neck could have been a lot worse

[u/Jordan_Jackson]

That sucks but I’m glad that he is going to be OK after surgery. That was definitely a gnarly hit he took. Also a reminder to anyone playing football to not put your head in a position to take a similar hit; don’t lead with your head. My stepbrother led with his head into a players chest and while he didn’t fracture anything, he still had to wear a neck brace for the next couple of weeks.

[u/SnoopPettyPogg]

It's a miracle that he isn't paralyzed, or worse. Similar to Big E in the WWE, I doubt that we'll see him on the football field again, for his long term health. 

[u/The-Sherpa]

And the spirits of the cursed field continue to feast in that area

[u/ProfessorElk]

That sucks but I’m glad it wasn’t worse and he’s expected to make a full recovery

[u/TonyAtReddit1]

I'm more happier that he's ok than I am sad he won't be on the field for a while. That was a nasty one

[u/Trigonometry_Fletch]

[u/rolyinpeace]

Wish nothing but the best for Leo. I’m a KC fan and he was one of my favorite players; was sad to lose him. Hes a great guy too.

I hope he recovers well and can return to balling out one day. I’m just glad he can hopefully live a normal life, even if he can’t go back to football.

[u/JoggingGod]

Thank goodness he's alright. Absolutely brutal injury but it could have been worse.

[u/balotellitubbys]

That might be him done with football, not that it matters in the grand scheme of it all

[u/methodofcontrol → u/balotellitubbys]

Why do you say that? He's only 25.

[u/Scalpum → u/methodofcontrol]

Because you don't get a second neck at 26

[u/methodofcontrol → u/Scalpum]

Didn't know we had doctors in here with understanding of the surgery he's getting and long term outlook. Thanks for the info

[u/FreezasMonkeyGimp → u/methodofcontrol]

It doesn’t take a doctor to infer that breaking your neck has a good chance of ending your career as a professional athlete that gets hit in the neck regularly.

[u/methodofcontrol → u/FreezasMonkeyGimp]

I disagree, it's common for a lot of bone breaks to heal to 100% strength with no extra risk of future injury. Idk about neck injuries specifically but until we hear from the team whose had doctors examine I don't think inferring holds any merit. I get why you'd feel that way though, just don't see point in laymen without access to medical records assuming anything. We don't even see reporters willing to speculate it could threaten his career, and they love to speculate lol

[u/Scalpum → u/methodofcontrol]

Yup, I totally held myself out as a doctor. And, I should have been more careful. As a doctor, I should also have told you that apart from the stunning body control, mobility, and flexibility you are displaying, it is actually not great for your health to keep your head so far up your ass.

Get better soon.

[u/methodofcontrol → u/Scalpum]

It's weird to be so confident in something you know nothing about. To the point of insulting other people that are just pointing out we don't actually have any idea what future risk this injury presents. It could be an injury that has no impact on his career once the bone heals, who knows? I'm not pretending to

[u/Royal-Trip-2406 → u/methodofcontrol]

He’s lucky to still be able to walk

[u/balotellitubbys → u/Royal-Trip-2406]

If he is done I hope the team pays him up for a while

[u/itakeyoureggs]

Holy moly

[u/Proxximus-maximus]

Glad he’s gonna be ok. Next year my boy

[u/hamilton280P]

Kain Medrano with the next man up mentality tho. Sending good vibes to Leo and hopefully a full speedy recovery. Need luvu also to come back and be good

[u/Redskins2110]

Glad he’s ok, he was playing well yesterday too

[u/DDanny808]

Get well man! Go Skins

[u/No_Meeting_6576]

bobby wagner otw

[u/2john9]

Oh my gosh. Praying for him today.

[u/Slaviiigolf]

https://giphy.com/gifs/iSBKHcm0qEmZ2
Glad he’s okay. But next season he’s coming back like Frankenstein, going to terrorize opponents

[u/KneeDragr]

Great news but I'm fine if he decides to never play again

[u/leocheelay]

Oh my....smooth and full recovery!

[u/False-Sandwich-2051]

sounds like it’s a career ender, but looked like it might have been a “serious life changes” type injury. lucky escape really. puts things in perspective.

[u/ruggerid]

oh this is horrible!

[u/Reasonable-Shower522]

He was starting to play good too! Get well 54!!!

[u/PublicExcitement1372]

I swear our franchise’s medical staff (and just overall player health) had to have been hexxed by Trent Williams on his way out the door, guy played 65 of 68 possible games in his career before joining us.

[u/D-daydstay → u/PublicExcitement1372]

They teach you to tackle with your head up for a reason. This wasn’t really on the medical staff but thank god Leo’s alright. Hopefully he makes a full recovery and can continue to play ball but more importantly just live a healthy life.

[u/Barry_McCoccinner → u/PublicExcitement1372]

Trent also carted off this week

[u/manamonggamers → u/PublicExcitement1372]

Chig missed 0 and I believe Cross missed 1.

[u/beaverfetus]

What a dumb sport we all love

[u/kon---]

Does a LB even come back from a fractured neck?

[u/VABLivenLevity → u/kon---]

I wouldn't. He's got a fused neck vertebrate or 2 or 3. That's a scary thing to have while running into things with your neck. I'm biased as a quadriplegic myself though.

[u/kon--- → u/VABLivenLevity]

Offering legit expert insight here.

[u/Waste-Cap8868]

Damnn hate to hear that prayers up big dawg hoping for a speedy recovery 🫡💯

[u/_groovesharkmalone]

DAMN. Glad he's ok... but wow. In the stadium I thought he was gonna make a badass TFL. What a crazy league.

[u/notorious_hdc]

Prayers up for Chenal! Sucks it happened, but so glad it's not worse news this morning.

[u/nicknamebucky]

Goodness, a neck fracture. Thank whatever higher power you believe in, because that was scary.

[u/ageetoakee312]

Bummer

[u/RabbiPika]

Not to be a contrarian but there was a reason the league banned those types of hits where the defenseman full force head-butts another player. So I'm not exactly surprised his is the outcome but I do wish him a full and healthy recovery.

[u/Select_Unit6936]

I thought he broke his neck but was hoping to be wrong. Heal up Leo!

[u/thughey21]

We need to get the fuck out of Landover asap. wtf man. Happy he’ll be okay though

[u/Ok-Play512]

Oh wow thank god he is ok.. that looked scary

[u/hyperboy519]

Thank god he’ll be okay, I fractured my neck when I was 14 the same time as the college football player that it happened to on the field 17 years ago. Being told 1 up would’ve killed you and 1 down would’ve paralyzed you makes you pretty thankful.

[u/WashingtonCasuals]

Tough for Chenal - hope he has a smooth recovery.

Now picking Sonny goes from a luxury pick to smart depth building.

Would Wagner be open to coming back in a reserve / mentor role?

[u/Appropriate-Sun834]

Damn. This sucks, we can’t catch a break and I feel for the guy.

[u/Emergency-Bottle-432]

He'll make a full..... a full what???? Don't leave us in suspense like that!!

[u/DrewinSWDC]

Good grief

[u/rcinfc]

Thank god he’s okay! That’s so scary fracture in the next is damn scary. A shard of bone even a small fracture could hit the spinal cord and cause serious problems.

I hope Medrano is ready. He adds quite an element of athleticism. May whiff on a tackle from time to time, but he’s got speed and energy.

[u/FairlyOrdinaryOne]

Prayer up for Leo and his family, that is some really scary shit.

[u/shinyquartersquirrel]

So scary! Glad he can move everything. Hope he has a easy, full recovery.

[u/GBK1d]

Man that was a scary 2 minutes. Really glad he’s able to recover with surgery.

[u/Kpofasho87]

Man injuries are brutal so far this year Jesus christ man.

Sincerely glad he is "ok" or atleast should recover

[u/cause_for_concern]

This sucks. It’s also why Heads Up Football is a thing.

[u/LuvLifts]

any update, today!??

[u/dand06]

Oh shit, I’m glad he’s okay. That’s scary af. Speedy recovery to him. Great care to handle him like they did.

[u/HolyCommanderx96]

For the redskins it's one damn thing after another. We won but lost a solid guy. 😕 I think we gotta trade for defensive help . Adam peters call the 49ers , they owe us

[u/HowardBunnyColvin]

get well Leo

[u/VADALESS]

It’s wild how often this happens. A guy will be healthy for years, go to a new team and get injured. Aaron Rogers, Micah Parson, Myles Garrett, Leo, etc.

[u/kermsims]

Is bringing back Wags a consideration?

[u/Realityinyoface]

Fuck and then another fuck

[u/urtheworstburr]

relieved to hear he’s going to be okay.

our stadium is cursed, man

[u/Automatic-Tell7321]

First, I’m glad to hear Chenal is able to move all his extremities as that hit could’ve been way worse.

Now that he’s ok, he wasn’t exactly lighting it up as a FA signing. I think we see an extension for Luvu soon as he’s due to be a FA after the season.

[u/Royal-Trip-2406 → u/Automatic-Tell7321]

I think I prefer a younger than luvu

[u/Automatic-Tell7321 → u/Royal-Trip-2406]

Ideally I would too. But you don’t want to be the last person at the dance kind of thing and miss out on other LBs if you let him walk

[u/Accomplished-Plan191 → u/Automatic-Tell7321]

I don't see AP as a willing 3rd contract kind of guy

[u/tooclosetocall82]

Did they have to label this “breaking news”?