Preseason injuries took a serious turn in Week 2 when New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. suffered an ankle sprain that has jeopardized his availability for the start of the regular season.
Unfortunately, the pace intensified in Week 3. Here are the most significant injuries suffered in game action during the past four days, with updates to come as needed.
WR Julian Edelman, New England Patriots
Injury: Torn right ACL
Prognosis: Edelman, who has been Tom Brady's favorite receiver over the past four years, will miss the season. He suffered the injury while planting on the turf at Ford Field in Detroit after a reception Friday night. The Patriots are well-positioned in terms of wide receiver depth, with Danny Amendola, Chris Hogan, Brandin Cooks and Malcolm Mitchell ready to take more snaps. But Brady will greatly miss the receiver who has accounted for a team-high 195 first-down receptions since the start of the 2013 season. (That figure is tied for No. 12 among all NFL receivers during that span.)
QB Tyrod Taylor, Buffalo Bills
Injury: Concussion
Prognosis: The NFL's concussion protocol is not one-size-fits-all, so it's impossible to know how long it will take Taylor to pass the tests that are required before he can return. Taylor suffered the injury Saturday night when he fell hard on the back of his head during a sack. Every concussion is different, and there have been enough recent examples of players missing weeks -- and sometimes months -- for Taylor to merit inclusion on this list. At the moment, the backup is rookie Nathan Peterman, a fifth-round draft pick from Pittsburgh.
RB Spencer Ware, Kansas City Chiefs
Injury: Torn PCL in right knee, plus other damage
Prognosis: [UPDATED] After some initial optimism about a midseason return, the Chiefs said Sunday that Ware is likely to need season-ending surgery. He suffered the injury after making a reception Friday night, and for now it appears that rookie Kareem Hunt -- a third-round draft pick from Toledo -- will replace Ware as the feature back.
Injury: Sprained MCL in left knee
Prognosis: [UPDATE] Petty is not expected to miss much time and could play in the Jets' preseason finale Thursday night, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. That is the best-case outcome for an injury that appeared more serious when he suffered it Saturday night. At the time, Petty couldn't put weight on the leg and told reporters that the knee wasn't stable. Regardless, the episode probably eliminates any chance Petty had to compete with Josh McCown and Christian Hackenberg for the starting job.
LB Anthony Hitchens, Dallas Cowboys
Injury: Tibial plateau fracture in right knee
Prognosis: [UPDATED] The injury will take eight weeks to recover from, according to ESPN's Todd Archer. Initial fears of a torn ACL, which would have been season-ending, appear unfounded. Hitchens was set to serve as the starting middle linebacker and had started 36 of 48 games since the Cowboys made him a fourth-round draft choice in 2014. In his absence, the Cowboys could shift Sean Lee or Jaylon Smith to middle linebacker.
WR Cameron Meredith, Chicago Bears
Injury: Left knee
Prognosis: There has been no official (or reported) diagnosis, but the Bears' medical staff immediately placed an air cast over Meredith's knee and sent him to the locker room aboard a cart. The air cast usually indicates an obvious and serious injury. Meredith was the Bears' leading receiver in 2016 and was expected to be one of their top targets this season, as well.
In addition to the Week 3 injuries, here is an update on the players we've highlighted in our Week 1 and Week 2 injury reports:
Returned to practice
Green Bay Packers CB Damarious Randall (concussion)
Still out
New York Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. (ankle)
Washington Redskins S Su'a Cravens (knee)
Detroit Lions WR T.J. Jones (hamstring)
Cincinnati Bengals S Shawn Williams (elbow)
Buffalo Bills WR Rod Streater (toe)
Out for the year
Miami Dolphins LB Raekwon McMillan (torn ACL)
Washington Redskins LB Trent Murphy (torn ACL/MCL)
Denver Broncos DL Billy Winn (torn ACL)
Minnesota Vikings RB Bishop Sankey (torn ACL)
Detroit Lions DL Kerry Hyder (Achilles)
Seattle Seahawks LT George Fant (torn ACL)