The Detroit Lions said Monday that preliminary indications were positive for linebacker Jack Campbell after he sustained a neck injury during Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings. The team declined to provide additional details, saying it would not share more information out of respect for Campbell and his family.
The statement did not clarify whether Campbell had regained any movement in his extremities. He was taken from the field at Ford Field on an immobility stretcher and cart after the injury. The team’s update was its third since the game ended, according to the supplied report, but none had publicly addressed his mobility.
Lions coach Dan Campbell said he and several players visited the linebacker and his family at a hospital Sunday evening. He told reporters the visit was positive and said Campbell’s parents and wife were in good spirits. The coach described the situation as a “small setback” and asked people to continue praying for the player. The coach and linebacker are not related.
The injury occurred after Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson caught a pass over the middle. Campbell was one of two Detroit defenders involved in the tackle. The report says Campbell was falling to his knees as he made contact, with his head angled upward; he then collapsed and remained motionless. It also reports that he did not need assistance breathing.
The team has not publicly provided further information about Campbell’s condition. Consequently, the positive preliminary assessment does not answer the specific question of whether he has regained movement. The Lions’ stated decision to withhold details leaves that part of his status unknown in the information available.
The injury drew attention in Detroit in part because of the franchise’s history with serious neck and spinal injuries. Former Lions guard Mike Utley was injured in a 1991 game against the Los Angeles Rams when he fell forward and landed on his head. The report says he fractured a neck vertebra and severely damaged his spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. As he was taken from the field, Utley gave a thumbs-up that became associated with his determination.
Former linebacker Reggie Brown suffered a spinal cord injury in a 1997 game against the New York Jets. He eventually regained the ability to walk, the report says, after a life-threatening incident that included a brief cessation of breathing, emergency resuscitation, neck surgery and extensive rehabilitation.
Asked about the sight of Campbell on the field, Dan Campbell said it was difficult to see a player in that condition and said the experience put football in perspective. The Lions have not announced additional medical details in the supplied account.
