Pro Bowlers Ryan Clady of the Denver Broncos

 NFL teams haven't even reported to training camps yet, but injuries have already changed how we view a few of the clubs. Carolina, Denver, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and the New York Giants have taken unexpected roster hits.

Pro Bowlers Ryan Clady of the Denver Broncos and Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers figure to get a late start to their seasons because of injuries suffered playing recreational sports. Clady tore a patellar tendon playing basketball in April, and Smith broke a forearm playing flag football in June. Both expect to return to the field at some point this fall – but when?

The Panthers also lost outside linebacker Thomas Davis for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) suffered in a non-contact drill during the team's off-season program in June. He finished fourth on Carolina in tackles in 2009 with 61 and also had two interceptions.

The Steelers lost two players this off-season with torn Achilles tendons – starting right offensive tackle Willie Colon and backup wide receiver Limus Sweed.

The loss of Colon was huge. Pittsburgh was hoping to re-invent itself as a running team in 2010. The Steelers finished a dismal 19th in rushing last season and failed to defend their Super Bowl title with a 9-7 record. Colon mans a key spot in any rushing attack – the power-side tackle.

The Giants lost two players in June. Rookie safety Chad Jones was injured in a car wreck, and wide receiver Domenik Hixon suffered a torn ACL in mini-camp.

Hixon caught only 15 passes last year but served as the team's primary return specialist, averaging 15.1 yards with a touchdown on punt returns and 22.6 yards on kickoffs. Jones was a third-round draft pick from LSU who figured to compete for the safety spot vacated by C.C. Brown, the team's third-leading tackler who left in free agency.

The Eagles took a chance that Marlin Jackson could make them bigger and more physical in the secondary when they signed him away from the Indianapolis Colts in free agency. He was a starter on the 2006 Super Bowl champions.

Philadelphia gave the 6-0, 196-pound Jackson a two-year contract even though each of his last two seasons ended prematurely with knee injuries. But Jackson won't get to start or finish the 2010 season with the Eagles after tearing an Achilles tendon in June.

Michigan Wolverines (football): The generous pick would be 7-5, but it's difficult to make a case for more than 6-6. The Big Ten schedule is tough, and even the non-conference menu (Connecticut, Notre Dame, Massachusetts, Bowling Green) has enough thorns in it to make life tense for Rich Rodriguez's team. Anyone who says Connecticut (season-opener) is huge has the autumn forecast pretty well pegged in Ann Arbor.

Michigan State (football): Opposite picture, largely because the schedule is cozy, and also because MSU will be driven to exorcise last November's dorm-incident demons. With no Ohio State on the schedule, this could be a 9-3 team.

new Detroit Lions jerseys  Red Wings: Incomplete until we see how free agency plays out.

 Lions jerseys Pistons: Ditto.

Michigan State basketball: Tom Izzo will be glad he stayed around. You can't in good conscience predict Final Four trips, all because the variables and bounces can be so capricious in college basketball, but if you were ever going to bet on one of Izzo's teams making it to the final two brackets, this team qualifies.