Nate Burleson Breaks Arm In Car Accident

It’s a good thing the Detroit Lions have Calvin Johnson. Nate Burleson, the team’s second best wide receiver, broke his arm Tuesday in a single-car accident.

The season ending injury came on the heel of the Lions beating the Redskins for the first time ever in Washington. According to authorities, the accident occurred while Burleson was reaching over to prevent pizzas from falling off his passenger seat.

Head Coach Jim Schwartz would not say if the injury would end Burleson’s season, but with surgery scheduled for Wednesday, it seems like it will.

The news is bad for Detroit. In 2011 Burleson played all in 16 games and the Lions went 10-6. In 2012 he only played in six games and the team went 4-12. Hopefully history doesn’t repeat itself. Detroit is currently 2-1.

Before breaking his arm, Nate Burleson was enjoying one of his best seasons. In three games he had 239 yards receiving, putting him on pace to break 1,000 yards. That’s no small feat at 32-years-old. In fact, in his 11 years in the league, he’s only broken the 1,000 yard mark once. That was 2004, his sophomore year in the league. Back then he was Minnesota Viking.

The Detroit Lions should have the offensive depth to bounce back from Burleson’s injury. The addition of Reggie Bush in the offseason added a much needed explosive weapon out of the backfield. Bush is questionable to play this week with his own injury, but he shouldn’t miss too much game action.

Do you think Nate Burleson’s broken arm will keep him out all season? Does his injury effect the team’s chances of succeeding this year?

[image via Wikimedia Commons]