Kevin McDermott isn't a name many NFL fans will recognize, but some who watched Thursday Night Football this week might remember hearing he injured a finger. The Minnesota Vikings long snapper not only injured his finger, he actually lost the tip of his pinky finger when he got it caught in a player's face mask, according to ESPN's Courtney Cronin.
Curtis Crabtree of ProFootballTalk deduced that the injury occurred when McDermott's hand got caught between Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Michael Brockers and the helmet of Vikings offensive lineman Tom Compton on a field goal attempt. McDermott got the finger stitched up and returned to the game, and he is still planning to play through the injury moving forward.
During the broadcast, the announcers noticed the injury to McDermott. There was speculation that a fingernail may have been ripped off, but it was much more than that. Losing part of a finger has happened before in the NFL, with one of the most well-known stories being that of Ronnie Lott.
Lott is most known for choosing to have the tip of his finger amputated after having it crushed during a game. He made the decision because surgery would have forced him to miss more time than he wanted. That is called toughness.
Another story of a player losing part of his finger came back in 2013. Arizona safety Reshad Johnson lost part of his finger that year.
McDermott's injury was a freak accident, to say the least, but hopefully it doesn't affect him too long. Even though a long snapper doesn't receive a whole lot of praise, McDermott's job is extremely important.