Arizona Cardinals offensive guard Mike Iupati had to be stretchered off the field in an ambulance after a scary helmet-to-helmet collision with Seattle Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor during the second quarter of Sunday night’s contest.
You can watch video of the scary hit above (play starts at the 0:08 second mark).
Doctors and medical staffs from both teams gathered around Iupati for several minutes as CenturyLink Field went silent during the somber, frightening moment. Fortunately, David J. Chao, a former NFL head team physician who is often quite accurate forecasting injuries, providing some encouraging speculation:
As he added, exercising caution and using a stretcher in a situation like that takes precedence:
If any doubt, take all precautions.
Standard to use spine board.
Remove facemask, leave helmet & pads on.
ATCs carry screwdriver to do this.
Shortly after Iupati left the stadium, the Cardinals official Twitter account reported that he was taken to the hospital with what described as a neck injury, also noting that he has movement in all of his extremities.
Cardinals VP of Media Relations Mark Dalton later provided another update:
Update from hospital on Cardinals G Mike Iupati: CT scan & MRI both have come back normal. More info as it is available
Finally, the Cards provided more good news:
INJURY UPDATE: #AZCardinals G Mike Iupati released from hospital and will fly back to Arizona with the team.