CLEVELAND — It's hard to find any silver linings within a season-ending injury that will require surgery, but for running back Quinshon Judkins, the good news that came amid his unfortunate leg injury that he sustained against the Buffalo Bills is that he had no damage to his knee.
Judkins was injured in the first half of Sunday's game when his leg folded under him while he was being tackled, bending awkwardly while twisting his ankle and knee in the wrong direction.
It was a gruesome-looking injury, and trainers immediately put him in an air cast and carted him off the field, with the team ruling him out a short time later.
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Testing done on Sunday revealed Judkins sustained a dislocated ankle and a fractured fibula that will require surgery to repair. There were also tests needed on his knee to see if he sustained any ligament damage there.
On Monday, head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed Judkins did not sustain any knee damage, a bit of good news, all things considered.
Stefanski said that Judkins will have surgery this week and will switch focus to rehab and recovery with the 2026 season in mind.
While Stefanski didn't have an update on a potential timeline for Judkins to return to action, whether that be OTAs and minicamp, training camp, or if he'd miss any time at the start of next season, there are typical timelines for similar injuries.
The typical timeline for a fractured fibula is around four to eight weeks, with more severe cases taking four to six months. For a dislocated ankle, the timeline is typically similar.
Before the injury, Judkins was putting together an impressive rookie campaign, recording 827 rushing yards on 230 carries and 171 receiving yards on 26 catches with seven total touchdowns. Of his 827 rushing yards, 494 of them came after contact.
Judkins will look to bounce back for a strong sophomore season, whenever he's cleared to return to action.
