Caleb Downs Injury Update: Ohio State Star Offers Insight on ACL Problem Ahead of 2026 NFL Draft

Leading up to the 2026 NFL Draft, rumors circled that potential top-10 pick and Ohio State safety Caleb Downs had a damaged knee. After the combine, news surfaced that Downs’ had a degenerative knee issue per Cory Kinnan of Daft on Draft.

Yesterday, Downs addressed those rumors and denied the rumor, stating that his medical didn’t line up with what has been said about his health. He did not participate in this year’s combine, and no other big news outlet picked up or confirmed his injury.

Speaking to media at his Ohio State pro day yesterday, Downs addressed the knee situation and claimed it was false.

“That’s not what my medical said. I’m going to continue to do me. I can’t control that or what people say.”

According To Pat McAfee, Teams Aren’t Concerned With Caleb Downs’ Knee Issue

Each year, NFL draft prospects see their stock rise and fall leading up to the draft. A month out from the 2026 NFL Draft, Caleb Downs’ stock is in question following his knee injury. However, teams may not be as concerned as some would think.

On Tuesday, former NFL punter and now radio host Pat McAfee addressed the situation on his Tuesday show, backing up Downs.

McAfee said via the McAfee Show via elevenwarriors.com:

“We reached out to the Downs family, and the Downs family immediately sent us to a ‘Suit.’ Sent a thumbs up, never gonna do that. So then we go to a couple of NFL teams and we tried to do a little follow-up on what we have heard. Multiple NFL teams have told us there is nothing in the medical that would deter us from bringing Caleb Downs in, especially with how great of a football player he is.”

Again, it’s the time of the year where information gets leaked on certain prospects that could taint or damage their draft value. Luckily for Downs, it doesn’t seem as if his knee rumors are hurting his stock. We’ll find out come late April during the draft.

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