Amid Concussion Focus, Leg Injuries Persist as NFL Player Scourge

For all the attention the National Football League has paid to reducing the number and severity of concussions, it’s made little progress against the serious leg injuries that end many players’ seasons and alter the competitive landscape.

The latest reminders are the gruesome injury that ended Washington Redskins quarterback Alex Smith’s season in a Nov. 18 game, followed two weeks later by the broken leg that sidelined his backup, Colt McCoy.

At least 17 players are currently sidelined by broken bones, many of them leg fractures, according to Pro Football Reference, which catalogs NFL injuries. Fifty-seven NFL players suffered ...