Bills Center Eric Wood Diagnosed With Career-Ending Neck Injury

Former Pro Bowler and longtime Bills offensive lineman Eric Wood announced this morning that he’s been diagnosed with a neck injury that will end his career. Adam Schefter didn’t shed much light on it, but apparently standard football wear and tear is at least a factor.

Wood, 31, has been with the Bills since he was drafted in the first round of the 2009 draft, making him the tam’s second longest tenured player. He made the 2015 Pro Bowl and played every offensive snap of the 2017 season. Wood has suffered a few injuries in his career, though they’ve mostly been lower-body injuries, including a particularly gruesome broken leg.

It’s not yet exactly clear what his neck injury is, but if the standard wear and tear of playing in the NFL is enough to force someone without a history of neck issues to stop playing, it’s almost as if NFL football is inherently dangerous.