Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Cade Johnson was released from a local hospital on Friday afternoon after he apparently sustained head and neck injuries during their preseason opener on Thursday night.
Johnson, late in the first half of the Seahawks’ game against the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night, was seen walking to the medical tent behind the team's bench at Lumen Field in Seattle. Nothing obvious happened on the field, and he didn’t need help getting up or walking off.
A short time later, though, Johnson was stretchered off the field with his head and neck immobilized.
A Seahawks player being taken off the field head and neck immobilized, strapped to a stretcher taking into the tunnel where an ambulance parks during games. Tyler Lockett and Noah Fant walking with him pic.twitter.com/Nie9i4Gqlv
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) August 11, 2023
Johnson was taken to an ambulance and transported to a local hospital, which the Seahawks quickly said was done as a “precaution” for head and neck injuries.
Cade Johnson is being transported to Harborview Medical Center as a precaution for head and neck injuries. He's in stable condition.
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) August 11, 2023
Prayers are up for him.
Johnson last touched the ball during a kickoff return in the second quarter, and he took a hard fall on the play, but he got up and continued to play. He was targeted twice in the preseason game on Thursday, but did not make a catch. He had one carry for two yards.
The Seahawks said on Friday that Johnson had been released from the hospital, and that he had entered the NFL's concussion protocol.
"We got a real good report, the early one," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said after the game, <a class="rapid-with-clickid" data-i13n="elm:affiliate_link;sellerN:ESPN;elmt:;cpos:1;pos:1" href="https://shopping.yahoo.com/rdlw?merchantId=8b9dfafd-e7b1-4ac1-bb73-50d55c74d82d&siteId=us-sports&pageId=1p-autolink&featureId=text-link&merchantName=ESPN&custData=eyJzb3VyY2VOYW1lIjoiV2ViLURlc2t0b3AtVmVyaXpvbiIsInN0b3JlSWQiOiI4YjlkZmFmZC1lN2IxLTRhYzEtYmI3My01MGQ1NWM3NGQ4MmQiLCJsYW5kaW5nVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZXNwbi5jb20vbmZsL3N0b3J5L18vaWQvMzgxNzA0OTIvc2VhaGF3a3Mtd3Itam9obnNvbi1zdHJldGNoZXJlZC1hcHBhcmVudC1oZWFkLW5lY2staW5qdXJ5IiwiY29udGVudFV1aWQiOiI5YmM5ZDJlNy1mMTIwLTRjY2ItYTlhZC0xMzFjZTI2MTcyYzcifQ&signature=AQAAAaAsdX0DXPuOzdgWQDij_pryzF3gqorU_rlPaLYYt2Zr&gcReferrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.espn.com%2Fnfl%2Fstory%2F_%2Fid%2F38170492%2Fseahawks-wr-johnson-stretchered-apparent-head-neck-injury">via ESPN</a>. "I'm hoping that's conclusive, but that's what we heard ... [We] went to the max precautions, and the findings were already really positive."
Johnson is entering his second season with the Seahawks. He had two receptions for 21 yards in three games last year. The 25-year-old went undrafted out of South Dakota State in 2021, and signed a one-year, $870,000 deal with Seattle this past offseason.
The Seahawks won the game 24-13. Drew Lock went 17-of-24 for 191 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Nick Mullens went 14-of-20 for 139 yards and a touchdown for the Vikings.
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