Florida football lost more than a close game to No. 9 Missouri on Saturday. The Gators could also be without starting quarterback Graham Mertz for their Rivalry Week game vs. No. 4 Florida State.
Florida (5-6, 3-5 in SEC play) needs to beat the Seminoles to earn bowl eligibility, but might have to attempt a win without Mertz. Near the end of the third quarter, he took off to run and came up favoring his shoulder. He was then shown being taken to the locker room before the ESPN telecast said he bypassed the locker room and went straight to Missouri’s facilities for X-rays.
The X-rays revealed a collarbone injury that will more than likely sideline him for the FSU game.
‘Graham has a non-displaced fracture of the collarbone, so he’ll be out for a little bit,’ Florida coach Billy Napier said. ‘We’ll have more information whether it’s surgical or not, we think right now the belief is it may not be but we’ll need to get more images to make that decision.’
Asked if the injury will keep him out for the FSU game, Napier responded: ‘We’ll see. I’ll let you know Monday. I don’t want to speak to something I don’t have 100 percent of the facts. I just know he’s not available. We think it’s a pretty significant injury.’
The first-year starting quarterback exited the Gators’ game trailing 23-21 and had completed 14 of 21 passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns with an interception before being replaced by backup Max Brown.
Mertz is in his first year with Florida after transferring from Wisconsin, where he started for three seasons.
Graham Mertz injury update
Mertz exited Florida’s game against Missouri on Saturday after taking a hit on a quarterback scramble. He then was shown favoring his shoulder.
Mertz then exited the game and was shown being taken to the locker room, but the ESPN broadcast later reported he was bypassing the locker room and heading straight to the Tigers’ facilities for X-rays. He later was shown back on the sidelines, but in street clothes with his arm in a sling.
Graham Mertz stats
Who is Max Brown?
Mertz was replaced by redshirt freshman backup Max Brown after exiting.
The 6-2 passer from Tulsa, Oklahoma, completed 6 of his 7 career passes this season before Saturday. He was a 3-star recruit in the 2022 recruiting class, and chose the Gators over Washington, Central Michigan and Temple.
Brown overcame a turnover to rally Florida to 10 straight fourth-quarter points as UF took a 31-30 lead over the Tigers with 1:36 left.
‘Give Max some credit,’ Napier said. ‘You know Max settled in there a bit and made a few plays. Obviously he’s a good athlete and we were able to use his legs a little bit in the read (option) game and he made some throws as well.’