Jalyx Hunt was scared.
His left leg just got caught under him and he heard a pop. So you can imagine the fear that ran through him as he laid on the field at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium a couple weeks ago.
“Terrifying,” Hunt said. “I haven’t experienced an injury like that before in my football career. Thank God I can say that. I heard a pop, went down like that, felt how awkward the position was, knowing that’s not a normal position for your body to be in. It was really scary.
“And then having to get that X-ray at the field and feeling how I was feeling, it was scary. I had to call the people, let them know I was OK. Had the prayer warriors out. Mom was praying for me, dad was praying. So, yeah, real scary.”
If you understand the fear Hunt felt in that moment, you can also probably understand the relief he felt when he realized he was going to be OK. Hunt missed the Panthers game last week with knee and ankle injuries but was already back on the practice field this week.
Whether or not he plays on Monday night, at least this wasn’t a season-ending injury.
“Shout out God,” Hunt said. “Shout out the fact that I do yoga and pilates in the offseason.”
Hunt, 25, credited his flexibility as a reason he was able to walk away from an awkward position others wouldn’t have escaped without serious injury. Hunt was on the turf in London for long after the first half ended, but then he waved off the cart.
On Thursday, Hunt said his group chat talked about that move this week, and his teammates said they would have given him crap if he accepted the ride.
“I don’t know what it is, maybe it’s an unwritten rule,” Hunt said. “But I’m only taking that cart if I physically cannot walk or I feel as if the season’s over. I felt like I had the strength enough to at least hobble off, so I was going to do it. That cart off, man, I’ve seen some nasty things happen. Nah, I didn’t want to be along with that group.”
Sunday’s game against the Panthers was the first game Hunt has missed because of injury in his NFL career. Hunt was actually a healthy scratch in Week 1 of his rookie season in 2024 but had played in every game since then.
So it was weird to be standing on the sideline against the Panthers.
“Oh it sucked,” Hunt said. “I was trying to bring energy from the sideline. Can’t really do too much.”
And then to make matters worse, Nolan Smith went down with a concussion and Jonathan Greenard’s ankle began acting up. That meant that Arnold Ebiketie smashed his career-high in defensive snaps with 72. And Keyshawn James-Newby, in his NFL debut, played 48 snaps on defense. In addition to their roles on defense, Ebiketie played 12 snaps on special teams and James-Newby played 9 on special teams.
That’s a lot for both of them.
“I felt bad putting that workload on them and thank God I’m in a great room where everybody is just a dawg,” Hunt said. “But it felt real bad not being able to contribute and help the team.”
Hunt isn’t sure if he’ll be able to make his return against the Cowboys on Monday night. He obviously wants to play, but he’s trying to put his faith in the trainers and medical staff.
He was limited to start the week.
“It sucked not being able to contribute,” Hunt said, “but at the same time, I would hate to come back and not be ready and be a detriment to the team when we have more than capable people in the room. It is an added motivation but I wouldn’t make that the main focus just because I wouldn’t want to put my team behind simply from a selfish act of wanting to play football again when there’s people who are healthy and willing and more able than I am.”
