Does player position in football influence risk of injury?

Player position matters.

Lineman absorb many lower-speed, repeated hits, which makes them more prone to bumps and bruises, but as they get older we start to see more shoulder and knee injuries. Skill players take higher-speed open-field collisions, which raises their risk for sprains and strains. As players get older, they get bigger, stronger, and faster so the same plays carry more injury risk.

Concussions can affect any position and don’t always require a direct hit to the head; force from a body blow can be transmitted upward and still cause brain injury. Concussions are among the hardest injuries to diagnose, because signs and symptoms may vary and you cannot see a concussion on traditional imaging (X-ray, CT, MRI). The consequences of another hit to the head while someone has a concussion are extremely serious so the rule of thumb is "when in doubt, sit them out."