The Seattle Seahawks placed defensive end Branden Jackson on injured reserve Sunday after he gave the team quite the scare during the first mock game of the year at CenturyLink Field.
Jackson collided with a teammate during the scrimmage and was knocked unconscious for a brief time before being carted off to an ambulance. Thankfully, Jackson was able to return to the team meetings the following day.
Coach Pete Carroll, at the time, was unsure of any long-term damage as a result of the injury, but the team has decided to play it safe this year.
“It’s a situation where (doctors) don’t recommend him playing this season,” Carroll told reporters Sunday afternoon. “He really came out of that episode OK, but the testing did show him that he had a physical trait that they want to protect, so everybody has been convinced that the best thing to do is for him not to play this year. I don’t know that that’s forever, but I do know for right now. He’s not injured right now, but he’s susceptible — it’s similar to situations a couple of our other guys have had in the past. We’re erring on the side of long-term health and taking care of our guys.”
Carroll compared Jackson’s situation to that of Kam Chancellor and Cliff Avril, both of whom retired because of neck injuries. Carroll is hopeful that Jackson could return in the future.
“He is a great team guy, we love him on our team, and he’s got such spirit,” Carroll said. “He’s got great versatility too in his play, but he’s just been such a great guy in this locker room. We’re going to miss him. I asked him to stay around as long as he wants to be with us all along, and I hope he’ll be able to do that.”
