Hands holding a soccer ball together

Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and provides behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.

Ken Belson has covered the National Football League for The New York Times since 2009. He has shaken hands with many former players and says that almost all of them share one trait: crooked fingers.

“Almost every person I’ve met has had a grip that’s broken,” Mr. Belson said.

Football players get their hands dirty and hurt catching passes, tackling runners and blocking passers. But unlike a torn knee or dislocated shoulder, a broken index finger isn’t likely to keep a player off the field. NFL veterans wear broken numbers with pride like battle scars, Mr. Belson said. He always seems to consider the central importance of those who play football at hand.

So in July, meeting with his colleagues at the Sports desk to discuss the upcoming NFL season, he pitched an idea: Why not photograph the hands and feet of a few players during the season? Such a project would be visual and trace the arc of a physically punishing schedule.

There is a story to be told in this seemingly normal matter, Mr. Belson said of his thinking.

The desk quickly embraced the idea. Mr. Belson and sports reporter Joe Drape interviewed the players. Sports desk photo editor Elijah Walker would arrange for local market photographers to work in team facilities where they would photograph the players multiple times during the 18-week season.

Their project appeared in the Sports section last week with a rare visual presentation: a 3 x 4 grid of arms and legs.

The article features Troy Dye, linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings; Will Dissly, Seattle Seahawks tight end; Ben Jones, center for the Tennessee Titans; Zay Jones, wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars; Tre McKitty, tight end for the Los Angeles Chargers; and Braden Mann, who punts and holds on punt attempts for the Jets.

We deliberately didn’t ask for a star quarterback, Mr. Belson said. We found many rive players who take everything seriously and actually have to take everything seriously to keep their jobs.

Seattle-based photographer Chona Kasinger photographed Mr. Dissly at the Seahawks practice facility three times: in September, October and January. He spent an hour looking around the room and setting up his seamless background, key light and umbrella at a 45 degree angle. The Seahawks gave him five minutes with Mr. Dissly for every snap.

I had to keep it pretty simple because you don’t have a lot of time to go wrong,” Mrs. Kasinger said.

In November, Mr. Dissly dislocated his right middle finger (he used ice and tape to continue playing). In January, he arrived on set in leg braces after injuring his knee in a game on Christmas Eve. His season was over, and he had lost some of his mobility to posing, Kasinger said.

Stories other images reflect similar injuries. As a batsman, Mr. Mann is often asked to kick the ball as high and as far as he can. He told The Times that he wears a cheap synthetic cleat that is a size and a half too small and pulls the laces tight on game day to make it difficult for his right kicking foot to hit the ball. She doesn’t get pedicures, unlike Mr. McKitty, who said he gets manicures and pedicures every month. (This season, pampering couldn’t prevent grass toes.) Ben Jones has a different ritual: He walks the field barefoot before every game, even in the snow. He uses the biggest cleats he can find to protect his feet in the middle of the line.

There have been pictures of swollen knuckles and twisted tendons on the sports pages. Chris Paul’s hands caught the attention of Scott Cacciola of the National Basketball Association in 2017. Cacciola wrote an article about Paul, then a guard for the Los Angeles Clippers and one of the greatest offensive playmakers in basketball. . His career was marred by hand injuries he suffered on defense and sticking his hands into passing lanes to steal passes.

His hands are so important to what he does, and he always hurts them doing the things he does best, Cacciola said.

Cacciola recalls that in a game before the first interview, in January 2017, Paul tore a ligament in his left thumb. He could not speak that night. But when they met, Mr. Cacciola found Paul, now in his 18th professional season and with the Phoenix Suns, eager to talk about the scars that are a testament to his advanced defensive skills.

Mr. Belson found a similar openness in some of the football players he interviewed this fall. Asking the players how they feel about their bodies revealed an unusual level of honesty.

It was really refreshing, Mr Belson said.