Oakland Raiders cornerback Gareon Conley was strapped to a backboard and carted off the field after taking a shot to the top of his head in the third quarter of Monday night’s game against the Denver Broncos.
Conley was trying to wrestle Broncos running back Royce Freeman to the ground when teammate Jonathan Abram hit Freeman out-of-bounds. In the collision, Abram spun around and his left thigh careened into the top of Conley’s head.
Conley remained stationary on the ground as he was tended to by medical staff. They removed the facemask from his helmet and immobilized him to protect against any further injury before loading him onto a cart and taking him from the field. Conley did raise a thumb in the air as the cart began its departure from the playing surface.
The concern over such a collision would be related to any possible neck or spinal cord damage. Hopefully the safety measures prove to be precautionary only and Conley comes away from the collision healthy.
