ArticleOrthopaedic journal of sports medicine2021
Return to Play Rates in NFL Wide Receivers and Running Backs After ACL Reconstruction: An Updated Analysis.
Article in Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The majority of elite and professional athletes return to the preinjury level of activity after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA · 2026Pooled it
- Return to Play and Performance After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction in Soccer Players: A Systematic Review of Recent Evidence.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2024Pooled it
- Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tears among Football Players.Current reviews in musculoskeletal medicine · 2025Review
- Anterior Cruciate Ligament Return to Play: "A Framework for Decision Making".Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Common Soft Tissue Injuries About the Knee in American Football.HSS journal : the musculoskeletal journal of Hospital for Special Surgery · 2023Article
- Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation.HSS journal : the musculoskeletal journal of Hospital for Special Surgery · 2023Article
- National Football League Wide Receivers and Running Backs Have Decreased Production Following ACL Reconstruction: An Evaluation of Fantasy Football Performance as an Outcome Measure.Arthroscopy, sports medicine, and rehabilitation · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAnterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures are potentially career-threatening injuries to National Football League (NFL) skill position players. A 2006 study showed a return-to-play (RTP) rate of 79% for NFL running backs (RBs) and wide receivers (WRs). Since then, a number of factors affecting RTP, including style of play as well as rules regarding hits to the head, have changed how defensive players tackle offensive ball carriers. PURPOSE/HYPOTHESIS: To determine whether the RTP rate for RBs and WRs in the NFL has changed since data were collected in the 2000s. Additionally, we evaluated player performance before and after ACL reconstruction (ACLR). We hypothesized that there will be a lower RTP rate than previously reported as well as a decrease in performance statistics after ACLR. STUDY
designDescriptive epidemiology study.
methodsPublicly available NFL injury reports between the 2009-2010 and 2015-2016 seasons were utilized for RBs and WRs who underwent ACLR. Successful RTP was indicated by playing in at least 1 NFL game after reconstruction. Position-specific performance statistics from before and after reconstruction were gathered for these players, and the RTP players were compared against the players who did not RTP (dnRTP group). Pre- and postinjury performance measures were also compared against a matched control group of NFL RBs and WRs who had not sustained an ACL injury.
resultsOverall, 61.8% of players (64.5% of RBs, 60% of WRs) returned to play at a mean of 13.6 months. Prior to injury, the RTP group had played in significantly more career games and had significantly more rushes and receptions per game than the dnRTP group; however, there was no significant difference in performance after ACLR. The WR RTP group had significantly decreased performance in all measured categories when compared with the control group.
conclusionOur study found a lower RTP rate in RBs and WRs than previous studies conducted in the early 2000s. WRs who achieved RTP had decreased performance when compared with noninjured controls.
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