Packers wide receiver Davante Adams was taken to a hospital on Thursday night after taking a helmet-to-helmet hit from Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan during the third quarter of Green Bay’s 35-14 win over Chicago. Fortunately, Adams was conscious after taking the hit and had feeling in his arms, legs, hands, and feet. He was even able to give the crowd gathered at Lambeau Field a thumbs up before leaving on a stretcher. But he had to be evaluated for a series of head and neck injuries after the game and may have suffered a concussion on the play.
Hard hits obviously happen all the time in the NFL. But the hit that Trevathan delivered to Adams was different because he delivered it directly to Adams’ head when he was stood up and stopped. It resulted in Adams’ head snapping back violently, and it appeared as though Trevathan hit him with the intention of trying to do some serious damage. You can watch the hit below, though we should warn you that it’s probably one of the worst hits you’ll see a player take this NFL season.
In the immediate aftermath of the hit, Adams’ teammates were not happy with Trevathan. A scrum broke out on the field with players from both teams pushing and shoving one another over the hit. And while cooler heads eventually prevailed so that Adams could receive medical attention, many Packers players were still bothered by what Trevathan did after the game. They didn’t like the hit he made, and they also weren’t thrilled with how he celebrated after he made it.
"I don’t like anybody celebrating when a guy gets carted off the field," said Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who was in the middle of the initial scrum. "That’s kind of the message I was conveying to them."
Packers tight end Martellus Bennett added: "What we thought was fucked up was that he was celebrating the play. You get your ass kicked, you took a cheap shot, and you celebrate when a guy goes down. That’s what really pissed us off."
And many NFL fans—including those who cheer for the Bears—were up in arms over the hit Trevathan made on Adams, too. While brutal hits like the one Trevathan made used to be celebrated in certain NFL circles, there’s really no place in the game for them anymore with everything that we now know about head injuries and the long-lasting effects they can have. So before Adams was even carted off the field, fans were asking the NFL to suspend Trevathan for at least one game, if not significantly longer, for his hit on Adams.
Somewhat amazingly, Trevathan didn’t get ejected from the game following the hit. The game’s referees handed him an unnecessary roughness penalty, but he managed to avoid an ejection. With all of the outrage surrounding his hit, though, he may have a hard time avoiding additional penalties in the days to come.
For what it’s worth, Trevathan claimed he didn’t mean to make a dirty hit on Adams. "I’m not a dirty player," he said after the game. "So I don’t do dirty hits."
He also pleaded his case for why he doesn’t think he deserves a suspension. "I don’t think it should be a suspension, but my main concern is that he’s OK," Trevathan said. "It was bad. I never wish that on nobody, especially after being hurt a couple times. I know how that is. Especially with the head and neck, you never wish that on nobody. You never want to see that, but this game is physical, and it happens. Hopefully, they can see my half of it."
It remains to be seen whether or not the NFL will take action against Trevathan. But it’s hard to imagine them not at least considering a suspension in light of what happened on the field on Thursday night.
