Dolphins kicker Caleb Strugis injures himself playing kickball

Miami Dolphins kicker will miss minicamp after sustaining a kickball injury.

We can add another nominee to the list of most ridiculous sports injuries, thanks to Miami Dolphins kicker Caleb Sturgis, who reportedly sustained a quadriceps injury playing kickball.

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No, really. It was a team-organized kickball game, and Sturgis suffered an injury that will keep him out until at least training camp.

Apparently the kickball game was suggested by a member of the coaching staff as a team-building exercise. That coach probably regrets the choice now. As we’ve learned many times, it’s ill-advised for people who play sports professionally to play other sports during the offseason, at the risk of injury. The Yankees’ Aaron Boone learned that lesson the hard way back in 2004, when he was cut after sustaining an injury in a basketball game, which paved the way for the Yankees to acquire Alex Rodriguez.

Sturgis will resume activity in two to three weeks and is optimistic about being ready for training camp, barring a setback, according to the Miami Herald. The Herald also says that neither the Dolphins nor Sturgis’ agent, Paul Sheehy, would comment on the story.

In retrospect, the Dolphins (or whoever had this idea) probably regret choosing a sporting event as their team-building exercise. There are enough ways for a player to injure himself playing the actual game that he is paid to play; the team doesn’t need to create any more. A team dinner would have served just fine here.

The history of athletes sustaining injuries in ridiculous ways is a long one, and goes much deeper than Sturgis’ kickball game gone awry. Sturgis will probably feel a little better about his injury if he reads the following list:

In 2013, Lions receiver Nate Burleson broke his arm trying to stop a pizza from falling off his front seat.
Then-Angels first baseman Kendrys Morales tore his ACL celebrating a home run in 2010, and ended up missing two full seasons, just from jumping on home plate.
In 2006, Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya missed several games from a wrist injury he got from playing too much Guitar Hero. That has to be the most 2006 injury ever.
And my personal favorite: In 2001, Padres pitcher Adam Eaton stabbed himself in the stomach with a knife he was using to open a DVD. I mean, those DVD shrink wrap things are tough to open, but really? A knife? That seems like overkill.

Feel better, Caleb Sturgis? Your injury probably seems a whole lot less ridiculous now.

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