New York Jets WR Quincy Enunwa has a career-threatening back injury, but he’s not about to let that stop him from playing for Gang Green.
New York Jets‘ wide receiver Quincy Enunwa announced that he has spinal stenosis on Monday. The back injury is a career-threatening one that has ended many sports careers.
The two most famous examples that New York sports fans will remember are David Wright and Don Mattingly. Both baseball players suffered the back injury and it eventually ended their once Hall-of-Fame track careers.
The injury makes it incredibly difficult to rotate the body, bend and puts a ton of stress on the lower body. It’s a life-changing injury that dramatically decreases a person’s quality of life.
For most players, the diagnosis itself would have been the end of their career. That’s not the case for Enunwa, who is battling through the injury and plans to be back on the field next year.
Enunwa said, when he comes back, he plans on doing so with the Jets, “Why would I not want to be here? I love it here.” Enunwa wants to stay with the Jets, but his large contract will make that difficult.
Prior to the start of the season, Enunwa inked a four-year, $36 million contract. By cutting Enunwa, the Jets would save $2.4 million dollars. That seems likely considering this is Enunwa’s second serious back injury.
During his five-year career with the Jets, Enunwa averaged just 39.4 yards per game with a 53.6% catch rate and only five touchdowns. Enunwa has played in 13 or more games just once in his career. That’s not a player who’s worth $8 million a season.
It’s hard to imagine Enunwa suiting up for the Jets ever again. It might be best for his own health to step away from the football field.