Which player on the cover of Madden NFL 2004 famously broke his leg that season?

Michael Vick, the cover athlete of Madden NFL 2004, broke his leg during the 2003 preseason. The Atlanta Falcons quarterback was injured in the team's third preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens and missed the first 12 games of the regular season.

Vick's injury became one of the most frequently cited examples in discussions of the so-called Madden curse, the popular belief that a cover athlete often suffers an injury or setback after appearing on the game. In reality, the pattern is anecdotal rather than a proven phenomenon, and players' injuries have many ordinary explanations.

Madden NFL 2004 was released in 2003, which explains the wording of the question: Vick was on the cover of that year's game and was injured during the corresponding 2003 NFL season. He returned late in the season and went 3–1 as Atlanta's starter, but the Falcons finished 5–11. His injury made the cover story especially memorable because Vick was the game's famously dominant, 95-speed quarterback.