There hasn't been a lot of word to this point on the status of Minnesota Vikings' wide receiver Greg Childs, who was injured on the second-to-last play of the Vikings' Saturday night practice at Blakeslee Stadium. But what word has come out has been incredibly negative, as one would expect.
Tom Pelissero of ESPN 1500 is saying this about the injury as of a few hours ago. . .caution, it's entirely possible your legs will hurt just from reading this.
But sources said Childs' knees were swollen and the worst-case scenario was he might have ligament damage in addition to tearing both of his patella tendons -- the same injury he suffered to one of his knees as a junior at the University of Arkansas in 2010.
It's a bit of a rarity to see a player injure both of their knees, particularly if it happens on one play. Chicago Bears' receiver Wendell Davis had something similar happen back in 1993. He was attempting to catch a pass on the bad turf of Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, and in the process of jumping for the pass managed to blow out both of his knees on the same play. I can't get a handle on exactly what Davis injured. . .his Wikipedia page says that he tore both his patellar tendons, but other sources say that he tore both ACLs.
That was the last game Davis played in the NFL. . .it happened five weeks into the 1993 season, and not only did Davis miss the rest of the 1993 season, he also missed the entire 1994 season as a result. He attempted a comeback with Indianapolis in 1995, but never played a game for the Colts.
So, we can scratch Greg Childs for the 2012 season, it appears. . .hopefully his career won't take the same path as Wendell Davis' did as a result of this devastating injury. No word yet on how the Vikings might potentially attempt to replace him.