One of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting linebackers had to be carted off due to a back injury on Monday Night Football. Ryan Shazier went to tackle Bengals receiver Josh Malone, but in a freak accident, the fourth-year player and former Pro Bowler went helmet-first and began pointing to his lower back while being tended to by the team’s medical staff.
Shazier went into tackle Malone and the top of his head was the first thing to make contact with the receiver’s body. It led to a scary scene, as Shazier was unable to move his legs after he turned onto his back. He also seemed to know right away that something was wrong, as he put his hand on his back and put his hands up to take his helmet off.
Here is a video of the incident, which is hard to watch.
Shazier was put onto a stretcher, and according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, he left the stadium via an ambulance and was transported to a hospital.
After a scary scene that had him laying motionless and carried off on a stretcher, #Steelers LB Ryan Shazier is being evaluated for a back injury. He has left Paul Brown Stadium via ambulance, but his status is unavailable.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 5, 2017
We’ll update this post as more information becomes available, but this was a terrifying moment involving an outstanding football player. Hopefully this wasn’t anything too serious and Shazier is able to get back onto the field as soon as possible.
