{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,18]],"date-time":"2026-07-18T10:42:13Z","timestamp":1784371333397,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,1,1]],"date-time":"2021-01-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1609459200000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2021,1,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures are potentially career-threatening injuries to National Football League (NFL) skill position players. A 2006 study showed a return-to-play (RTP) rate of 79% for NFL running backs (RBs) and wide receivers (WRs). Since then, a number of factors affecting RTP, including style of play as well as rules regarding hits to the head, have changed how defensive players tackle offensive ball carriers.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Purpose\/Hypothesis:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To determine whether the RTP rate for RBs and WRs in the NFL has changed since data were collected in the 2000s. Additionally, we evaluated player performance before and after ACL reconstruction (ACLR). We hypothesized that there will be a lower RTP rate than previously reported as well as a decrease in performance statistics after ACLR.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Study Design:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Descriptive epidemiology study.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Publicly available NFL injury reports between the 2009-2010 and 2015-2016 seasons were utilized for RBs and WRs who underwent ACLR. Successful RTP was indicated by playing in at least 1 NFL game after reconstruction. Position-specific performance statistics from before and after reconstruction were gathered for these players, and the RTP players were compared against the players who did not RTP (dnRTP group). Pre- and postinjury performance measures were also compared against a matched control group of NFL RBs and WRs who had not sustained an ACL injury.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Overall, 61.8% of players (64.5% of RBs, 60% of WRs) returned to play at a mean of 13.6 months. Prior to injury, the RTP group had played in significantly more career games and had significantly more rushes and receptions per game than the dnRTP group; however, there was no significant difference in performance after ACLR. The WR RTP group had significantly decreased performance in all measured categories when compared with the control group.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Our study found a lower RTP rate in RBs and WRs than previous studies conducted in the early 2000s. WRs who achieved RTP had decreased performance when compared with noninjured controls.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1177\/2325967120974743","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,1,21]],"date-time":"2021-01-21T17:16:54Z","timestamp":1611249414000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Return to Play Rates in NFL Wide Receivers and Running Backs After ACL Reconstruction: An Updated Analysis"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"9","author":[{"given":"Aditya","family":"Manoharan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dane","family":"Barton","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ansab","family":"Khwaja","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"L. Daniel","family":"Latt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,1,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"bibr1-2325967120974743","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/2325967118768446"},{"key":"bibr2-2325967120974743","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1053\/jars.2002.30649"},{"key":"bibr3-2325967120974743","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0363546506290186"},{"key":"bibr4-2325967120974743","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s12178-017-9426-3"},{"key":"bibr5-2325967120974743","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/2325967117711681"},{"key":"bibr6-2325967120974743","unstructured":"Clary J. Passing league: explaining the NFL\u2019s aerial evolution. Accessed April 25, 2020. https:\/\/bleacherreport.com\/articles\/729496-nfl-has-the-nfl-really-turned-into-a-pass-first-league"},{"key":"bibr7-2325967120974743","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/2325967116631949"},{"key":"bibr8-2325967120974743","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/2325967116670117"},{"key":"bibr9-2325967120974743","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.arthro.2014.02.034"},{"key":"bibr10-2325967120974743","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3928\/01477447-20140728-59"},{"key":"bibr11-2325967120974743","unstructured":"Football Outsiders. NFL snap counts. Accessed April 23, 2020. https:\/\/www.footballoutsiders.com\/stats\/nfl\/snap-counts?year=2019&team=ALL&week=ALL&position=RB&op=Submit&form_build_id=form-aMxgz2p5UiCqZXuR6wLkEVVeNM-B9X9VRFl2k6a76U&form_id=fo_stats_snap_counts_form"},{"key":"bibr12-2325967120974743","unstructured":"Hermsmeyer J. For a passing league, the NFL still doesn\u2019t pass enough. Accessed April 25, 2020. https:\/\/fivethirtyeight.com\/features\/for-a-passing-league-the-nfl-still-doesnt-pass-enough\/"},{"key":"bibr13-2325967120974743","unstructured":"Kelly R. How NFL players have evolved. Accessed June 4, 2020. https:\/\/www.stadiumtalk.com\/s\/evolution-nfl-football-players-7aa420a72ca24a40"},{"key":"bibr14-2325967120974743","unstructured":"Lineups. 2019-2020 Running back (RB) touches. Accessed April 27, 2020. https:\/\/www.lineups.com\/nfl\/player-stats\/running-back-rb-touches"},{"key":"bibr15-2325967120974743","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0363546516651426"},{"key":"bibr16-2325967120974743","unstructured":"NFL Operations. 2019 NFL rulebook. Accessed April 23, 2020. https:\/\/operations.nfl.com\/the-rules\/2019-nfl-rulebook\/#penalty-summary"},{"key":"bibr17-2325967120974743","unstructured":"NFL Operations. Evolution of the NFL player. Accessed April 23, 2020. https:\/\/operations.nfl.com\/the-players\/evolution-of-the-nfl-player\/"},{"key":"bibr18-2325967120974743","unstructured":"NFL Operations. Health and safety rule changes. Accessed April 23, 2020. https:\/\/operations.nfl.com\/football-ops\/nfl-ops-honoring-the-game\/health-safety-rules-changes\/"},{"key":"bibr19-2325967120974743","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/2325967117698788"},{"key":"bibr20-2325967120974743","unstructured":"Powell-Morse A. Evolution of the NFL offense: an analysis of the last 80 years. Accessed April 25, 2020. https:\/\/www.besttickets.com\/blog\/evolution-of-nfl-offense\/"},{"key":"bibr21-2325967120974743","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0363546517703361"},{"key":"bibr22-2325967120974743","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1941738118758312"},{"key":"bibr23-2325967120974743","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0363546510372798"},{"key":"bibr24-2325967120974743","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/03635465000280040201"},{"key":"bibr25-2325967120974743","unstructured":"Sphigel B, Pennington B. How offense took over the N.F.L. Accessed April 25, 2020. https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/01\/19\/sports\/nfl-offense-records.html"},{"key":"bibr26-2325967120974743","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0363546512443047"},{"key":"bibr27-2325967120974743","unstructured":"Veltman N. NFL players: height and weight over time. Accessed May 30, 2020. https:\/\/noahveltman.com\/nflplayers\/"},{"key":"bibr28-2325967120974743","unstructured":"Wong M. Analyzing the efficiency of using multiple running backs in the NFL. Accessed April 23, 2020. https:\/\/bleacherreport.com\/articles\/123587-utilizing-multiple-rbs-the-current-trend-in-nfl-examining-the-efficiency"},{"key":"bibr29-2325967120974743","unstructured":"Wyche S. Passing league: explaining the NFL\u2019s aerial evolution. 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