Lions defensive back Saivion Smith exits game with scary neck injury

On the first play of the Detroit Lions’ first defensive series on Sunday, defensive back Savion Smith suffered a scary looking neck injury.

The Detroit Lions shook things up in their starting secondary for Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots, benching Amani Oruwariye, DeShon Elliott and Mike Hughes. One of the players who was promoted (in his case from the practice squad) was Saivion Smith, a cornerback by trade who started at one of the safety spots on Sunday.

On the first play of the Lions’ first defensive series, Smith made contact with Patriots tight end Hunter Henry and went down immediately.

The Lions bench emptied to surround Smith, he was immobilized and an ambulance took him off the field. Patriots’ medical staff also came out to help. A scary scene to be sure, with family members joining Smith in the ambulance as he was taken to a local hospital.

But beat writers on site in the press box weren’t totally clear immediately on what specifically happened to Smith, and the television broadcast was not helpful to make it clear. The team announced it was a neck injury.

Charles Robinson of Yahoo! captured the play and shared a clip.

While it’s not a grotesque injury, like a broken leg, be warned that it is a scary looking play as Smith goes limp and falls to the ground immediately.

Smith’s condition may be updated after the game, but it has clearly impacted the team as they trail the Patriots 16-0 at halftime. Winning or losing a football game is suddenly not nearly as important as the young defensive back’s health.

The latest update is Smith has movement in his extremities as he continues to be evaluated. That’s a great sign, obviously.