Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers suffered a shoulder injury in the Longhorns’ win in Week 8 over Big 12 opponent Houston Cougars. Ewers was hit in the fourth quarter and immediately exited the game to the medical tent.
Later, Ewers was seen in a sling.
When is Quinn Ewers Set to Return?
Ewers was diagnosed with an AC joint injury in the shoulder of his throwing arm. The injury was revealed by ESPN later as a grade 2 AC joint sprain in that shoulder. There was optimism he would return to play this season.
Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian announced that Ewers would be “week-to-week” with his injury and that the goal was to get him back “sooner than later.”
Now, ahead of their Week 11 game against TCU, it’s been reported that Ewers will return to the lineup and start the Longhorns’ game against the Horned Frogs.
AC joint injuries are some of the most common injuries in football. Due to a variety of medical factors, most often these injuries do not require any sort of operation, save for the very worst conditions. For a grade 2, these injuries will be treated with protection in a sling with a progressive rehab schedule. More often than not, these injuries take anywhere from 3-6 weeks to heal.
While this could knock Ewers out for the regular season, there is a chance he will return near the end of the Longhorns’ regular season. With five weeks left in the season, if Texas appears poised to make the Big 12 championship game, they could elect to save Ewers for that game instead of risking a re-injury.
Texas Without Quinn Ewers
The Longhorns squeaked out a win over Houston with Ewers out, 31-24. Maalik Murphy has served as the starting quarterback for Texas after Ewers’ injury and helped Texas take down BYU, 35-6, the following week. He then led Texas to a close-fought win over Kansas State, in which he struggled.
Murphy is a former five-star quarterback recruit, but it was evident the passing game missed Ewers against BYU and Kansas State
Ewers has completed 70.9% of his passes for 1,915 yards and 13 touchdowns on the year. Ewers sits as QB8 on the Pro Football Network 2024 NFL Draft Big Board right now. The Longhorns are 8-1 and pushing for a berth in the College Football Playoff this season.