Avery Johnson injury: Kansas State QB leaves game with non-contact injury

Kansas State came out of the locker room up seven against Colorado, getting the ball to start the second half. Avery Johnson was hoping to extend the lead to two scores and got off to a great start by finding Jace Brown over the middle, a huge gain to put the Wildcats in enemy territory. A nice play but not what Wildcat fans are paying attention to.

The moment Johnson released the pass, he immediately went to the ground in pain. While the was a Colorado defender in his face, the injury appeared to be a non-contact one. Johnson was down on one knee and holding his side.

A few trainers walked onto the field and eventually helped Johnson to the sideline. Eventually, Johnson jogged back to the locker room to get further evaluation. Ta’Quan Roberson is the Kansas State backup and has entered the game.

You can check out the full sequence here.

Weird injury here. Avery Johnson just jogged into the locker room to have it looked at. pic.twitter.com/JZnij3smb1

— Kellis Robinett (@KellisRobinett) October 13, 2024

ESPN color commentator Roddy Jones was quick to compare what Johnson went through to Quinn Ewers from a few weeks ago. He was in Austin for the game against UTSA where Ewers got hurt, also having a non-contact issue before grabbing his side.

“We were at Texas when Quinn Ewers had the oblique injury,” Jones said. “Threw the ball down the field and sort of grabbed his side in a similar fashion. Was non-contact but it looked very similar, the type of throw where Ewers.”

Ewers wound up missing two games for Texas but was practicing for the last two ahead of the Red River Shootout against Oklahoma. Of course, there has been no official word on Johnson and there is a chance he could return to the field against Colorado.

As he leaves the game, Johnson has completed eight of 10 passes for 86 yards. Most of Kansas State’s offensive firepower has come from the ground. Johnson has contributed there as well, having a touchdown. However, sacks have lowered his rushing total, having negative eight yards on six carries. His long is 10 yards.