Yesterday, both the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks suffered major injuries, as they saw key players tear their ACL's and be lost for the season. The Patriots lost their third-round pick in defensive end Derek Rivers, while the Seahawks are going to be without the service of left tackle George Fant. Both of these losses are a huge blow for two of the top teams in the NFL.

Patriots lose Rivers during joint practice session

On Wednesday the New England Patriots were hosting a joint practice session with the Houston Texans. During a kick-off coverage drill, Derek Rivers went down with a left knee injury which was examined on the field by the team's head athletic trainer.

A league source with information on the situation told ESPN yesterday that an initial MRI showed that Rivers tore his ACL and has a sprained LCL.

Derek Rivers was selected in the third-round by the Patriots out of Youngstown State. However, he was the team's top selection since they did not have a first or second round pick. Rivers was projected to be a key rotation piece in the defensive line, arguably the team's weakest position.

The Patriots lost veteran Chris Long in free agency when he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. They also lost another veteran, Rob Ninkovich, when he announced his retirement a few weeks ago. Now the team will have to rely more on fourth-round pick Deatrich Wise Jr.

and undrafted rookie Keionta Davis.

Fant gets carted off during preseason game

During last night's preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks left tackle George Fant had to be carted off the field. Fant suffered the injury with just under nine minutes left in the second quarter. He was moving backwards in pass protection when teammate Justin Britt accidentally rolled into him while on the ground.

Fant immediately fell to the ground, grabbing his right knee in pain.

An MRI confirmed that Fant tore his ACL, which he will need season-ending surgery on. Last season, he started 10 games at left tackle as an undrafted rookie out of Western Kentucky. Following his injury, second-year guard Reese Odhiambo took over the left tackle spot for essentially the rest of the game.

The team's other possible in-house option to fill in at left tackle is former Jaguars left tackle Luke Joeckel, who has been playing at left guard. There is also the possibility that the Seahawks could look to bring someone in to compete for the job.
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