Alabama WR Jaylen Waddle suffers season-ending ankle injury on opening kickoff vs. Tennessee
Alabama wide receiver Jaylen Waddle was taken directly to the locker room after he suffered a right ankle injury while returning the opening kickoff in Saturday’s game vs. Tennessee.
Once the game got to halftime, Alabama head coach Nick Saban told CBS that the injury will keep Waddle out for the rest of the season.
Nick Saban on Jaylen Waddle's season-ending injury pic.twitter.com/anwK5MPGcA
— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) October 24, 2020
Waddle was running toward the sideline when his right foot got trapped as he was being tackled. His right ankle then turned awkwardly.
Waddle crawled to the Alabama sideline after the injury and couldn’t put any weight on his right leg after the play. He was helped toward the locker room by two staffers and then was shown on CBS sitting up on the back of a cart. Waddle was in significant pain and was smacking the cart in frustration.
This is how Waddle was injured on the kickoff return. You can see his right ankle get trapped as he was tackled.
Hopefully it’s not serious. pic.twitter.com/bYcN0ZaLpd— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) October 24, 2020
The CBS broadcast later showed Waddle being loaded into an ambulance to presumably go to a nearby hospital. His right ankle appeared to be in a cast.
oh man, Waddle’s right ankle appears to be in a cast. pic.twitter.com/MTPNWHZAxx
— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) October 24, 2020
Waddle, an All-American as a returner in 2019, is one of the most dynamic playmakers in college football. The wide receiver has 25 catches for 557 yards and four TDs this season as Alabama’s passing offense has been the best in the country. Waddle and DeVonta Smith form the best combination of receivers in college football.
Waddle, a junior, is heralded as a top NFL draft prospect. It’s fair to wonder if he has played his last game in an Alabama uniform and if Alabama’s offense will slow down at all without him.
WR John Metchie likely slots into Waddle’s place in the starting lineup. Metchie has been great as Alabama’s third receiver in 2020; he entered Saturday’s game with 14 catches for 348 yards and three touchdowns. But no Alabama wide receiver outside Metchie, Waddle or Smith had caught a pass until the first half of Saturday’s game when Slade Bolden had his first catches of the year.
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