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The NFL will review Chicago Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan's brutal hit on Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams on Thursday night to decide if he should be suspended for violating player safety rules, according to multiple reports. NFL Network reported a comment from league office was expected Friday.
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During the offseason, the NFL competition committee announced that certain illegal hits, previously punishable by a 15-yard penalty, would be subject to immediate ejection and/or suspension on first offense.
Adams was transported by ambulance to Bellin Hospital in Green Bay to undergo evaluations for a head and neck injury and the possibility of a concussion. The Packers said he was conscious and had movement in all of his extremities.
With about five minutes to go in the third quarter, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers completed a pass to Adams at the Bears 10. Adams was wrapped up by a couple of defenders when Trevathan delivered a full-speed shot to Adams' head with the crown of his helmet.
Adams' mouthpiece flew out of his mouth as he fell to the ground. Fellow receivers Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb immediately waved the training staff onto the field.
After being down for several minutes, Adams was carried off the field on a gurney. He raised his thumb to the crowd as he approached the locker room.
Trevathan was penalized for the hit but not ejected.
After the game, Trevathan told reporters he wasn't trying to intentionally hurt Adams.
"I was just trying to make a play. It wasn't intentional. I was just trying to do my job and he ended up getting hurt," Trevathan said. "I'm sorry about that and I'm going to reach out to him."
Trevathan was asked whether he should be suspended for the hit.
"I don't think it should be a suspension, but you never know," Trevathan said. "I'm just going to send a prayer out. My main concern was that he's OK.
"We'll see. I'm sure (the NFL will) look at it. It was a flag. I'll be ready for whatever they throw my way. I'm not a dirty player, so I don't think it was a dirty hit."
Rodgers said he didn't think Trevathan was "intentionally trying to hurt" Adams.
"It's really tough to see your teammate not able to move," Rodgers told reporters after the 35-14 victory. "I kind of had a right-down-the-line look at what happen as he was stood up, got hit ... and you can tell he was in a bad place, in a bad way, that he probably knocked out, so that's tough."
Referee John Hussey was asked after the game why Trevathan was not ejected for using the crown of his helmet to hit Adams in the helmet.
"From my perspective I just didn't see enough to rise to that level," Hussey told a pool reporter. "That issue I would have is a judgment call. Was it egregious, was it completely unnecessary? I didn't have enough information from my perspective to make that."
