INDIANAPOLIS — The NFL’s best running backs have always been haunted by the spectre of injury.
Nobody handles the ball more, or takes more hits without being able to deliver their own blow. The more times a running back touches the ball, the harder it is to avoid major injury.
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The ones who somehow outrun the medical tent become the best of all-time. From Jim Brown to Walter Payton, on down through the Barry Sanders-Emmitt Smith rivalry and all the way to LaDainian Tomlinson, the best runners in NFL history have often been the ones who were able to avoid losing most of a season to major injury, who somehow fought off the physical toll until they’d carved their names into history.