Seahawks end mock game after Branden Jackson head injury, ambulance takes him to hospital
Seahawks defensive end Branden Jackson is in a Seattle hospital after a helmet-to-helmet hit left him motionless on the turf during the team’s mock-game scrimmage at CenturyLink Field Saturday.
An ambulance took Jackson, his head taped to a stretcher and still wearing his helmet, to the trauma center at nearby Harborview Medical Center.
Jackson has been a starting defensive end throughout much of training camp. He was on the second defense going against backup left tackle Cedric Ogbuehi about midway through Saturday’s scrimmage when the two collided helmet to helmet as Jackson was pass rushing at Ogbuehi.
Carroll ended the scrimmage after the ambulance took Jackson away.
“It was like a knockout punch,” Carroll said.
“We called off the rest of the day, just to honor our love for him. He’s one of our all-time guys, favorite guys, and everybody wanted to make sure that we could send him as much as we could possibly help him to make that he is OK.”
The coach said Jackson was conscious and moving his extremities as he was being loaded into the ambulance.
Jackson fell to the ground face first immediately after the head-to-head contact. After the play ended, Russell Wilson immediately knelt at Jackson’s side as the defensive end lay crumpled somewhat on his right side, face into the turf. Carroll came out as did team doctors Jonathan Drezner and Edward Khalfayan. They summoned the Seattle Fire Department ambulance parked in the tunnel to the visiting locker room, as it is for all Seahawks home games.
As the ambulance came onto the middle of the field to Jackson, Carroll sent the rest of the players into the locker room for a “halftime” that was likely coming soon anyway. But most of the defense and many offensive players stayed on the field, showing obvious concern for their motionless teammate.
Jackson was loaded onto the ambulance with his helmet still on and taped across the front to a stretcher. Teammates Ryan Neal, Cedrick Lattimore and rookie Colby Parkinson tapped the side of ambulance with Jackson inside before it drove him to Harborview.
“It’s a tough game. You can’t take it for granted,” Wilson said.
“I’m praying he will be OK. I believe that he will be OK, it sounds like.”
The Seahawks re-signed Jackson, 27, this summer after releasing him in the spring. He had two sacks and 20 tackles last season in a career-high 15 games last season.
Seattle signed him as a free agent in 2017. He played 21 games for the team in 2017 and ‘18. Jackson began his career with Oakland as an undrafted rookie out of Texas Tech in 2016.
This story was originally published August 22, 2020 at 2:20 PM.
