Florida Believes QB Graham Mertz Suffered 'Significant' Injury vs. Missouri

Gators head coach Billy Napier offered an update on Florida quarterback Graham Mertz's shoulder injury suffered vs. Missouri in Week 12.

Photo: Florida quarterback Graham Mertz; Credit: Alex Shepherd

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Gators starting quarterback Graham Mertz suffered a "nondisplaced fracture of the collarbone" in his left shoulder during Florida's 33-31 loss at No. 9 Missouri on Saturday night, head coach Billy Napier told reporters after the game. 

The injury will rule Mertz "out for a little bit," per Napier, although the head coach would not confirm if Mertz will be available or not for Florida's regular-season finale against No. 4 Florida State in Gainesville next Saturday.

"We’ll have more information whether it’s surgical or not," Napier said. "I think right now the belief is that it may not be. We’ll need to get more images before we make that decision.”

Mertz appeared to be in significant pain following a handoff to running back Montrell Johnson Jr. late in the third quarter, which went for two yards. The play followed a third-and-five, seven-yard rush where Mertz lowered his shoulders and trucked two Missouri defenders simultaneously before crossing the line to gain. 

"What a play. What a competitor. If Gator Nation doesn’t respect Graham Mertz, OK, after watching him compete this year, then we’ve got a problem," Napier exclaimed regarding the play in which Mertz got hurt. "This kid has been everything you would want from a teammate, example, leader, work ethic, motivator, game day just put it on the line."

Mertz signaled backup quarterback Max Brown onto the field and ran to the sideline, falling to the ground at the request of UF coaches in order to receive an official timeout. He exited the game late in the third quarter and was escorted by team training staff to the locker room. At that time, the Tigers led the Gators, 23-21.

At the time of his injury, Mertz had completed 14 of his 21 passing attempts with 183 yards, two touchdowns and his first interception since Florida's Week 5 matchup with Kentucky.

Napier will provide an update on Mertz's status moving forward during his Monday press conference, he said.

"I don’t want to speak on something when I don’t have 100% of the facts," Napier expressed. "I just know that he’s unavailable. We think it’s a pretty significant injury. I can give you a more specific timeline Monday." 

Should Mertz's injury require surgery, his storybook 2023 season would all but officially come to an end. Florida (5-6, 3-5 SEC) could achieve bowl eligibility in Week 13 with an upset victory over FSU (11-0, 8-0 ACC) and push for Mertz to return for the postseason, but even in that scenario, his recovery window would be limited to roughly a month at most. 

The redshirt junior offseason transfer from Wisconsin has produced single-season career bests across the board during his debut campaign as Florida's signal-caller, having completed 72.9% of his 358 passes for 2,903 yards, 20 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He's added four scores on the ground. 

In Mertz's place against Missouri, Brown completed four-of-five passes for 56 yards and rushed seven times for 42 yards, boosting his career passing line to 10-of-12 for 92 yards. He's made five appearances over two seasons with UF.

"Give Max some credit. Max settled in there a little bit and made a few plays," Napier said. 

"Obviously, he’s a good athlete and we were able to use his legs a little bit in the read game. He made some throws, as well. Max has worked hard. I can’t talk enough about how much improvement since the first day he got there. And he’s a competitor. I think ultimately he showed that.”

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