There was a scary moment for New England Patriots fans on Monday night, when DeVante Parker suffered a head injury and struggled to get back to his feet. Somehow, the only person to miss it was the NFL’s concussion spotter.
The Patriots and Cardinals shared equally bad injury luck in their “Monday Night Football” matchup. Though Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray (rightfully) grabbed all of the headlines with his non-contact knee injury, there were a total of six players to leave the game in the first half. Cardinals running back James Conner and cornerback Marco Wilson and Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson and cornerback Jack Jones all saw themselves leave the game with injuries, but perhaps the scariest one was that of Parker.
After a first-down catch, Parker was clearly shaken up as he struggled to get to his feet. The veteran wideout wobbled back to his position outside the numbers, as the Patriots were in hurry up, struggling to stay upright. Eventually, Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury threw the flag, allowing Nelson Agholor of all people to step in and get Parker off the field. You can see the video here.
After serious injuries to Tua Tagovailoa and Matthew Stafford this season, one would think the NFL’s concussion spotters would be on their P’s and Q’s. Evidently, they are not — leaving the NFL community angered over the entire situation.
Though it was a good time to slam the NFL over a miss, Agholor received some credit for being adamant in wanting to call the play off.
Parker would eventually be ruled out of the game with a concussion, with the spotter eventually pulling him after Kingsbury’s challenge.
