Detroit Lions cornerback Saivion Smith, who left the field in an ambulance early in the first quarter against the New England Patriots on Sunday in Foxborough, Mass., reportedly flew home with the team after undergoing tests at a local hospital.
The team said Smith was transported to a hospital with a neck injury. He had movement in all his extremities after testing, and the Detroit Free Press reported that he was later released from the hospital and flew home on the team plane.
Smith was hurt on the Lions’ first defensive stand of the game. He was attempting to cover tight end Hunter Henry but collapsed and fell to the ground.
Trainers came out to tend to Smith, and the ambulance drove onto the field shortly after. Paramedics put him onto a backboard and his family members came down from the stands to join him as he was taken to a hospital.
“I just hope my guy’s OK,” teammate DeShon Elliott told the Free Press. “They told me he was moving, he’s responsive, I just want him to get better. I don’t ever want to see a guy go down, especially on our team. One of my friends. So hopefully he gets better.”
Smith, 24, entered the game with one tackle on the season. Sunday’s contest was his first career start.
–Field Level Media
