Training camp is a time for optimism for most players and fan bases.
While some guys are fighting to make the team or keep their NFL dream alive, others are working toward achieving success after missing significant time due to injury.
Injuries are a huge part of the NFL and will shape how the 2025 season plays out, so let's look at some guys who are hoping to stay healthy after missing a significant portion of last year.
NFL Players Coming Back From Injury:
Dak Prescott, QB, Cowboys
Prescott missed the second half of 2024 after tearing his hamstring and undergoing season-ending surgery in Week 9.
After playing every game for his first four seasons in the NFL, Prescott has missed 25 starts since 2020.
The good news is Prescott has already told the media he will be a full participant on day one of training camp, and his availability for Week 1 is not in question.
He is also just one season removed from leading the Cowboys to a 12-5 record, leading the NFL in passing touchdowns, and earning second-team All-Pro honors.
When healthy, Prescott has remained a productive player.
He even finished 13th in our quarterback rankings for this season.
However, at the age of 32, with the injury history now starting to pile up, it is worth wondering what a fully healthy Prescott looks like under center.
Christian McCaffrey, RB, 49ers
Training camp was a nightmare for McCaffrey in 2024 as he dealt with nagging injuries that led to him missing the first eight weeks of the season due to Achilles tendonitis.
Just four weeks after returning, he was shut down with a PCL injury, ending his 2024 season.
However, McCaffrey is all systems are a go after he tallied a career-low 50 carries for the 49ers in 2024.
McCaffrey previously suffered through injury-plagued seasons in his last two years with the Panthers.
The 49ers turned to Jordan Mason to lead their backfield last year, but he left for Minnesota in free agency, leaving Isaac Guerendo as the top backup behind McCaffrey.
With Deebo Samuel now in Washington and Brandon Aiyuk likely to start the season on the PUP list, the San Francisco offense is desperate for playmakers, and McCaffrey could assume his normal workload early in the schedule.
Brandon Aiyuk, WR, 49ers
As mentioned above, Aiyuk is also returning from a knee injury.
Speaking at the start of training camp, GM John Lynch said Aiyuk was “not anywhere close to having a concrete timeline.”
It would be a shock if Aiyuk is on the field for Week 1, and he could be out well beyond the required four game absence for players who begin the season on the reserve/PUP list.
Jauan Jennings — assuming the 49ers work out his contract concerns — and Ricky Pearsall should open the season as the 49ers' top options on the outside.
Chris Godwin, WR, Bucs
Godwin was well on his way to another 1,000-yard season when an ankle injury shut him down after just seven games.
Godwin opened training camp on the PUP list, but the Bucs remain hopeful he will be on the field for Week 1.
Tampa has already shown faith in Godwin’s health this offseason, rewarding him with a three-year contract extension.
The team averaged nearly 30 points per game in the seven contests he suited up for and threw for 300 yards just once after he went down.
Godwin was Baker Mayfield’s favorite target in those seven games, catching 24 more passes than Mike Evans in that timespan.
He will be a big part of the Tampa Bay passing game once he gets back on the field, but there are at least some concerns about when that will be heading into training camp.
Chris Olave, WR, Saints
Olave has now suffered four concussions in his NFL career, including two in a three-week span last season that led to him being shut down for the final eight games of the year.
While Olave has maintained that he is just the victim of bad luck, it is certainly worrisome how quickly the last two concussions came.
The star receiver was cleared to return to the practice field in December, but sat out the final few meaningless games as a precaution.
The 25-year-old did top 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons, but he now enters an offense with the worst quarterback situation in the NFL and will be splitting targets with Rashid Shaheed — also coming off injury — and an aging Brandin Cooks.
Christian Darrisaw, OT, Vikings
Darrisaw has emerged as one of the best left tackles in the NFL, but missed the second half of last season after suffering a torn ACL and MCL in October.
The 2021 first-round pick did participate in individual drills during the Vikings mini camp and hasn’t been placed on the PUP list, so he should be active to start training camp and likely Week 1.
That would be a huge development for a Vikings offense that will be rolling with J.J. McCarthy — also returning from injury — as their starting quarterback.
Sam Darnold was sacked 39 times after Darrisaw went down compared to just 18 times in the games he played to start the season.
Aidan Hutchinson, EDGE, Lions
Hutchinson has already been back on the practice field this year, and the Lions are excited to get their defensive star back after he missed the end of the 2024 season with a broken leg.
Hutchinson’s injury was just one in a long list of ailments that plagued the Lions defense, but he was medically cleared to return to the field early in the offseason and will be a full participant in training camp.
In just five games last year, Hutchinson led the Lions with 7.5 sacks, 7 tackles for loss, and 17 quarterback hits.
Detroit’s defense struggled to get after Jayden Daniels in the playoffs last year, notching just 2 QB hits and 0 sacks in the 45-31 loss.
DeMarvion Overshown, LB, Cowboys
Overshown has had his season cut short by a knee injury in back-to-back seasons, tearing his ACL, MCL, and PCL in December of 2024.
He missed all of his rookie season after suffering a knee injury in training camp.
The linebacker has already been placed on the PUP list and is not expected to be ready for the early weeks of the regular season.
He initially posed Thanksgiving as a realistic return date.
However, Overshown posted that the Cowboys' medical staff did tell him they expect him to return this season, so maybe an earlier activation is possible.
Before his injury, Overshown had 90 tackles and 5.0 sacks in 12 games.
Jaire Alexander, CB, Ravens
Alexander will try to rebuild his value in Baltimore after the Packers gave up on him following a string of injury-riddled seasons.
The two-time second-team All-Pro played just four games in 2021 and was limited to seven games in each of the last two seasons.
He did have 2 interceptions in 2024, but suffered a knee injury in Week 8 that later needed surgery after a setback in practice a few weeks later.
In Baltimore, Alexander will join a secondary that includes Marlon Humphrey and Nate Wiggins at cornerback and Kyle Hamilton at safety.
He is still just 28, but has now missed time due to shoulder, knee, groin, and back injuries.
If Alexander can stay healthy, the Ravens will boast one of the best secondaries in the NFL, but if he gets injured again, it will be interesting to see what kind of value he has around the NFL when he’s a free agent next offseason.
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