Brutal Injury Diagnosis Revealed As Veteran NFL Referee Is Ruled Out For Season

This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.

As the NFL season goes on, one NFL referee, Larry Smith, won’t be available for any more games.

The Sunday slate in Week 6 began in one of the worst ways possible: with an injury. It wasn’t a player on either the Jacksonville Jaguars or the Houston Texans who went down. It was a ref.

Smith’s injury was so bad that he had to be carted off the field after he appeared to sustain a lower-leg injury after falling on the field.

Larry Smith was injured between plays. The broadcast initially showed him getting up, but he began limping after taking a step or two and was forced to go back down to the ground.

Now, his injury was as bad as everyone thought.

Why Is NFL Umpire Larry Smith Sidelined for the Rest of 2026?

Umpire Larry Smith will miss the rest of the 2026 season after suffering a non-contact leg injury in London.

This is brutal news for Smith, who is in his second NFL season. He worked seven seasons as a referee and one as a center judge in the Big Ten Conference, and previously worked in the Mid-American Conference.

Furthermore, he was on 5 spring league rosters from 2019 to 2024 and was the referee for the 2023 USFL Championship, prior to that league’s merger into the UFL.

What should have been a great honor for the second-year NFL referee turned into a nightmare during the first quarter.

Aside from football, Larry Smith is also a school principal in Kansas. He will be temporarily replaced on referee Shawn Hochuli’s crew until he is fit to return.