Ben VanSumeren’s season ended as soon as it started.
The 25-year-old Eagles fullback, who suffered an injury while defending on the opening kickoff of Thursday’s game against the Cowboys, is out for the rest of the season, ESPN reported Friday.
VanSumeren reportedly tore his patellar tendon just seconds into the game and was carted off the field just seconds into the 2025 NFL season.
VanSumeren’s injury has a grim and uncertain outlook, with the average recovery time being at least six months.
According to a study from the Orthopedic Journal of Sports Medicine that analyzed NFL athletes with patellar tendon tears between 2009 and 2023, nearly half of the players’ injuries were career-ending, with 46.6 percent never returning to the league.
VanSumeren was entering his third season in the NFL after the Eagles signed the Michigan State alum following the 2023 draft.
He has spent the majority of his playing time on special teams.
The injury on Thursday also happened just before a series of wild events between the two teams, headlined by Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter spitting at Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott.
Carter was ultimately thrown out of the game for unsportsmanlike conduct, but later replays revealed that Prescott had spat in the 24-year-old’s direction first.
Prescott, however, insisted that he was simply talking to Cowboys offensive lineman Tyler Booker and that he had to spit.
“I actually said words like, ‘Why the hell would I’ — excuse me, but probably even more colorful — ‘What would I need to spit on you for?’ He just spit on me in that moment, it was more of a surprise than anything,” Prescott told reporters.
Following the incident, Carter apologized to his teammates, saying that it will not “happen again.”
“It was a mistake that happened on my side. It won’t happen again,” Carter told reporters. “I feel bad for just my teammates and fans out there. I’m doing it for them. I’m doing it for my family, also. The fans, they showed the most love.”
The NFL will look into the incident, according to NFL Network.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
