The New England Patriots are facing off against the Arizona Cardinals on Monday, and one dangerous moment following a head injury to Patriots wide receiver DeVante Parker has many fans talking for all the wrong reasons.
The play occurred in the first quarter when Patriots quarterback Mac Jones threw a pass to Parker and took a nasty fall on his head while being tackled.
Parker was affected by the hit right away, showing clear signs of a potential concussion as he got up and was very dizzy following the play.
Parker’s injury went completely unnoticed and the next play was only stopped due to a challenge of the catch by Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury.
While the situation went unnoticed by most people on the field, ESPN broadcaster Troy Aikman quickly picked up that something was wrong with Parker when he got up.
Troy Aikman and Nelson Agholor knew that something was wrong with DeVante Parker, even if the officials and concussion spotter didn't seem to.
"They're going to be watching him… somebody upstairs should be. He looked a little wobbly coming up…"- Aikman pic.twitter.com/SkmUioWDpF
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 13, 2022
“He’s a little banged up,” said Aikman. “They’re going to be watching him… Somebody upstairs should be. He looked a little wobbly coming up off the ground.”
Fellow Patriots wide receiver Nelson Agholor also noticed the injury and was gesturing at the sidelines to call a timeout while Parker remained wobbly while lining up for the next play.
Kingsbury’s challenge thankfully stopped play and someone finally noticed that Parker was injured, but this certainly was a bad look for the NFL, which many took note of on social media.
Doug Kyed: DeVante Parker could barely stand in his stance. Is the concussion spotter asleep?
DeVante Parker could barely stand in his stance. Is the concussion spotter asleep?
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) December 13, 2022
Mark Daniels: DeVante Parker looks banged up. Where’s the concussion spotter?
DeVante Parker looks banged up. Where's the concussion spotter?
— Mark Daniels (@ByMarkDaniels) December 13, 2022
Marcus Mosher: DeVante Parker almost fell over in his stance before the T.O. What is the spotter doing??
DeVante Parker almost fell over in his stance before the T.O.
What is the spotter doing??
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) December 13, 2022
Albert Breer: Devante Parker looked like he could barely get in his stance after hitting his head there. Should probably take him out of the game.
Devante Parker looked like he could barely get in his stance after hitting his head there. Should probably take him out of the game.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) December 13, 2022
Joe Polmpliano: Shoutout to Nelson Agholor. It looked like he noticed DeVante Parker was concussed and tried to get the play stopped. Great teammate.
Shoutout to Nelson Agholor. It looked like he noticed DeVante Parker was concussed and tried to get the play stopped. Great teammate. pic.twitter.com/uKuCFX7ktn
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) December 13, 2022
Tom Giles: How does it take them that long to realize Devante Parker might be concussed?
How does it take them that long to realize Devante Parker might be concussed?
— Tom Giles (@TomGilesNBCS) December 13, 2022
Luckily no further harm was taken by DeVante Parker, but it is certainly concerning that it took that long to notice that he was not right after the play. He was later ruled out for the rest of the game for New England due to the injury.
Patriots injury update: WR DeVante Parker (head) and DB Jack Jones (knee) are downgraded to out.
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) December 13, 2022
[Awful Announcing on Twitter] Photo Credit: ESPN
