A devastating knee injury sidelines the Big Ten’s top rusher, forcing the struggling Spartans to lean on Jaz Patterson as they scramble to ignite a stagnant offense.
The Michigan State Spartans' world might feel like it's crashing in around them this morning.
After battling through two tough losses over the past two weeks, the hits kept coming Monday as head coach Pat Fitzgerald announced star running back Cam Edwards will miss the remainder of the 2026 season with a knee injury.
During Fitzgerald's Monday press conference, he confirmed Edwards' season was over.
“Most of it (referring to the rest of the team’s injuries) will be up to the availability report. But, Cam (Edwards), unfortunately will be done for the year.”
Michigan State Loses Its Biggest Offensive Weapon
The Spartans were hit with a slew of injuries against Nebraska, including offensive lineman Connor Moore, linebacker Jordan Hall, cornerback Tre Bell and many more.
But none was bigger than Edwards.
The star running back was expected to be the centerpiece of Michigan State's offense throughout the 2026 season, and the immediate comparisons to Kenneth Walker III gave Spartan fans plenty to be excited about.
Through the first two weeks, Edwards looked every bit the part.
He led the Big Ten in rushing with 250 yards through two games before being held in check by a stout Notre Dame defense. With Michigan State entering its first Big Ten game of the season against Nebraska, Edwards had an opportunity to bounce back.
Instead, his afternoon ended just a few plays into the game.
Edwards took a screen pass and turned it upfield for a 21-yard gain, but as he approached the sideline, he took a brutal hit. His right foot planted into the ground as a defender went low, bending Edwards' knee awkwardly.
Fitzgerald did not specify the exact nature of the injury Monday, but he confirmed the devastating news: Edwards will miss the rest of the season.
Jaz Patterson Now Has to Step Up
With Edwards gone, the Spartans will turn to the next man up.
That appears to be Jaz Patterson, who received the majority of the workload following Edwards' injury against Nebraska.
Fitzgerald explained that Patterson knew when he arrived in East Lansing that he might not immediately be the team's primary running back.
“When we brought in Jaz Patterson, we told him we had a guy we wanted as starter, he would be 1B. Jaz said, ‘I don't care, I'll make an impact.’”
Now, that opportunity has become much bigger.
Patterson, Marvis Parrish and the next running back in line will have to help carry the weight of an offense that currently ranks last in the Big Ten in scoring.
Michigan State has scored just 88 points through four games, making the Spartans the only Big Ten team with fewer than 100 points through the first four weeks.
Losing Edwards only makes an already difficult situation even tougher.
Michigan State Has to Find a Way Forward
The Spartans have already endured a brutal stretch.
After opening the season 2-0, Michigan State has dropped its last two games, including Saturday's loss to Nebraska, while dealing with a growing list of injuries.
Now, the player the offense was expected to lean on for the entire season is gone.
It is going to take a full-team effort for Michigan State to push through the injuries and turn its season around. There may be even more significant updates coming, but the Spartans will have to wait until Wednesday's availability report to get a better idea of the status of the other injured players.
For now, though, one thing is certain.
We've seen the last of Cam Edwards running the football for Michigan State in 2026.
