Any given play.
It’s an ultimate NFL reality check. The next snap on a football field could always be the last one, an occupational hazard attached to a brutal, violent sport that can be pure entertainment for millions watching. And pure hell for players willing to risk their bodies for reasons that could include competition, glory, wealth and passion for the game.
Then there’s the other part of that reality, which the Detroit Lions are experiencing with a game looming in Miami on Sunday while Jack Campbell progresses in his recovery from the neck injury that provided the most sobering images from the NFL last weekend: the all-pro linebacker left limp on the turf after a seemingly routine tackle, strapped to a backboard, then taken from the field
on a stretcher.
On to the next play.
That’s another occupational challenge, undoubtedly mental amid all the physicality. It’s no wonder that resources the Lions have available at team headquarters, as always now, include counselors. Campbell, 26, went to work at Ford Field and wound up a few miles away at Henry Ford Hospital, and his teammates, some of whom were in tears as medical personnel attended to him, must manage to move on from any trauma.
“It’s a balancing act,” Lions coach Dan Campbell told reporters on Wednesday. “You’re humans. And you know it, you want to acknowledge it. It’s a lot, but if that’s weighing that heavy, and that’s where your mind’s at, it’s not going to be good going into this game. And that’s where you get hurt as well.”
The update Wednesday on Jack Campbell – coming from the well-respected team captain himself, in his first public comments since suffering the injury – was uplifting. In an extensive statement released by the team, which previously provided few details of his condition, Campbell said that he has full movement in his lower body and is continuing to make progress with movement in his upper body.
Campbell suffered the injury on first play of the fourth quarter, when he and rookie defensive end Eric O’Neill sandwiched Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson on an open-field tackle. As suggested for proper techniques, Campbell made a play with his head upright as it collided with Hockenson’s hip area as he stretched to wrap up the tight end’s legs.
Although specifics of what caused the injury from a medical standpoint have not been publicly revealed, Campbell’s description of his progress confirmed that he does not have paralysis, a worst-case fear when it comes to neck injuries. Seeing Campbell lay motionless on Sunday, though, provided an eerie reminder of the injury suffered in 1991 by Lions guard Mike Utley, left paralyzed from the chest down after a collision on a seemingly routine blocking play.
And there are too many other cases over the years, from all across the football landscape, where catastrophic injuries changed the course of lives in an instant.
It’s why, regardless of what team you’re rooting for, what fantasy team lineup you’re rolling with or what parlay you’ve bet, there’s humanity in the mix, too. We should never lose sight of that. And that some have paid a heavy toll for, in some cases, being at the wrong place or in the wrong position at the wrong time.
One such case involved another former Lions player, Reggie Brown, whose career as an NFL linebacker ended during the final game of the season in 1997, due to a spinal injury.
“I had my days where I can go to some dark corners in my mind,” Brown, 52, told USA TODAY Sports’ Josh Peter on Monday. “But I have a wife, kids, some real positive things. Kind of just got to go through those emotions and still seek out those things I’m grateful for.”
Campbell, who along with his wife Megan, had their first child in July, also expressed his faith in his statement and asked for continued prayers.
Thank God.
“One thing I’ve learned about Detroit is that this city is built on toughness, resilience, and grit,” Campbell added, without specifically addressing his football future. “That’s exactly how I’m going to approach this challenge.”
Amen.
His coach’s warning about the team’s mindset, which came with the perspective of playing 11 NFL seasons as a tight end, sounded a lot like his words a little more than two years ago after a Lions victory at Dallas that I happened to cover was soured by a compound fracture suffered by All-Pro defensive end Aidan Hutchinson.
I was struck by the realization expressed by some of the players, echoing the coach, describing how despite the sadness of losing arguably their best player they needed to snap back into focus as a matter of survival after the game was delayed – like Sunday’s – for more than 10 minutes. Such a mindset comes with NFL training.
Unfortunately, they get a lot of practice with this. Yet they are so human, too.
Amon-Ra St. Brown, the star receiver, shared on his podcast that, fittingly, he immediately thought of Campbell’s wife and newborn son, as he processed the scary scene in the moment on Sunday. It was the compassionate reaction.
He knows. For all that his job and sport offers, health is never guaranteed with another NFL reality check one play away.
Follow Bell on X: @JarrettBell
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lion LB Jack Campbell's update was uplifting. His injury was sobering | Opinion
