Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Andre Baccellia was stretchered off the field after suffering a neck injury in his team’s Week 15 game against the Houston Texans.
Baccellia’s injury occurred after he returned a kickoff late in the first half. It wasn’t immediately clear how the XX-year-old receiver was injured, as the Texans swarmed him as he tried to get the ball to the 30-yard line.
Baccellia remained down after the hit, however, and Cardinals medical staff tended to him on the field. They examined him, removed the facemask from his helmet and was eventually stretchered off the field after being loaded onto a backboard.
The crowd on hand at NRG Stadium – home of the Texans – cheered on Baccellia as he left the field. He gave a thumbs up to the crowd as he exited, according to multiple reporters who were at Sunday’s game.
The Cardinals quickly ruled Baccellia out for the remainder of Sunday’s game because of a neck injury. The team announced Baccellia ‘was alert and had full movement of all his extremities’ and that he is being taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.
Baccellia returned two kicks and logged 53 return yards before exiting Sunday’s game. He did not receive a target as a receiver.
(This story will be updated as more information becomes available.)