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.
Lions CB Saivion Smith is being taken to a local hospital to be evaluated for a neck injury.
— Detroit Lions PR (@LionsPR) October 9, 2022
The Lions emptied their bench to encircle Saivion Smith. Tough scene here in Foxborough pic.twitter.com/gjt1txXBpG
— kyle meinke (@kmeinke) October 9, 2022
Can we get a replay of the Saivion Smith injury? Nope, 4 more Geico ads instead
— Jeff Risdon (@JeffRisdon) October 9, 2022
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.
#Lions Saivion Smith had to be taken off the field in an ambulance in Foxboro. It’s not really clear what happened on the replay. Didn’t appear to be a head injury but it’s hard to say. pic.twitter.com/bWpoAgytwr
— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) October 9, 2022
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.
Fox broadcast says Saivion Smith has movement in his extremities. Remains at hospital while they evaluate him for a neck injury.
— Ben Raven (@BenjaminSRaven) October 9, 2022