An injured Vince Young tossed his shoulder pads and No. 10 jersey into the stands after Tennessee’s 19-16 overtime loss to the Washington Redskins on Sunday.
Young, who injured his right thumb late in the third quarter and was replaced by rookie Rusty Smith, left for the locker room but returned to the sideline and had the thumb taped and re-taped in an effort to return. He even tried a glove, but coach Jeff Fisher stuck with Smith.
After the game, Young walked toward the tunnel and suddenly tossed his shoulder pads and jersey into the stands.
A few minutes later he walked past reporters already dressed, ignoring both questions and his old college teammate who tried to talk to him. Three hours after the game, Young wrote on Twitter that he was fine and apologized to his teammates. He then tweeted, “Just want to play.”
Fisher said Young had a torn flexor tendon in his right thumb and might need season-ending surgery. Either way, Fisher says Smith is now Tennessee’s starter after the fifth-year veteran’s latest meltdown, which has Young’s future with this team in question in a season he needed to prove he could be its franchise quarterback.
Washington running back Clinton Portis started and had five carries for 32 yards in the Redskins’ 19-16 overtime win over Tennessee. But he got hurt and returned to the sideline in street clothes in the second half.
Portis had plenty of company trudging to the sideline with injuries, one of at least eight Redskins who got hurt.
Coach Mike Shanahan said running back Chad Simpson, who hurt his fifth metacarpal, will have surgery. Center Casey Rabach will have an MRI exam on a knee injury, and Shanahan said doctors thought linebacker Rocky McIntosh has a fairly severe groin injury.
The Redskins came in without three starters due to injuries. It got worse when Simpson got hurt in pregame warmups and went downhill from there.
Washington safety Anderson Russell, who started for LaRon Landry, slid to the turf and hurt his leg on an 87-yard punt return by Marc Mariani in the first quarter. He had to be helped off the field. Derrick Dockery, active for the first time in weeks, went in at right guard and had to be helped off the field in the second quarter. Linebacker Lorenzo Alexander also hurt a hamstring.
Eagles defensive back Ellis Hobbs left the field on a stretcher with a neck injury after taking a hit to the helmet on the second-half kickoff return against the Giants.
Hobbs had full movement in his extremities and X-rays were negative.
He gave the thumbs up with both hands as he was carted off. Hobbs, who was down on the field for 11 minutes while players from both teams gathered around him and the crowd fell silent, was hit by the Giants’ Dave Tollefson on the play and fumbled. The ball was recovered by the Eagles’ Clay Harbor. Also, Eagles defensive end Juqua Parker left the game with a hip injury.
Cleveland quarterback Colt McCoy left Jacksonville in a walking boot, the latest injury for the banged-up Browns.
McCoy injured his left ankle on a sack early in the third quarter. He stayed in the game and finished 17 of 28 for 241 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. He said X-rays afterward were negative but he would have more tests Monday in Cleveland.
The Vikings lost starting right guard Anthony Herrera for the season to a knee injury. Herrera was hurt in the first quarter of the game against Green Bay and didn’t return. He was replaced by Ryan Cook. Coach Brad Childress said he was “very disappointed” for Herrera and that he believed he tore his anterior cruciate ligament. Herrera will have an MRI test Monday to confirm the diagnosis.
Arizona linebacker Will Davis was carted off the field with an ankle injury. Davis sat up in the cart as he was taken away. He was injured in the fourth quarter against Kansas City. And wide receiver Early Doucet took a blow to the head in the second quarter and left the game with what coach Ken Whisenhunt described as a concussion.
In other games: Jets right tackle Damien Woody left New York’s win over Houston with a knee injury and didn’t return; Bengals CB Johnathan Joseph hurt his ankle and missed the second half; and safeties Roy Williams (concussion) and Chris Crocker (right knee) also left in the first half of the loss to the Bills.
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