Most of the time, we see decline in NFL players coming at some point, and we watch it happen over one, two, or three seasons. It rarely happens all at once.
But rarely and never are not the same thing. It has happened. Shaun Alexander went from a then NFL record 28 touchdowns in 2005 to just seven the next season, then four, then zero, and then he was done.
You can point out the age, usage, and attrition of the position at running back. None of these descriptions apply to Carson Wentz. After a great rookie season, he was an MVP candidate in his second season, but suffered a torn ACL at the end of the year. He was never the same. He currently serves as Patrick Mahomes' backup and is unlikely to play this week as Mahomes is expected to miss the game despite suffering an ankle sprain last week.
Peyton Manning, DeShuan Watson, Daunte Culpepper, Todd Gurley, Antonio Brown…all fell off a cliff — often after an injury, a change of team, or both.
