For the second time in seven days, an NFL preseason game was suspended due to a player injury.
On Saturday, it was a game between the Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars that got called in the fourth quarter. Dolphins rookie wide receiver Daewood Davis sustained the injury on a catch attempt with 8:32 remaining in the fourth quarters. You can see the play here.
Davis was removed from the game on a stretcher, with members of both teams surrounding him while trainers attended to him.
It’s unclear exactly what kind of injury Davis sustained, but the Dolphins mentioned he was conscious with movement in all extremities while announcing he was taken to Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville.
The situation was similar to what happened in a game between the New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers last weekend, with Patriots cornerback Isaiah Bolden leaving in a stretcher after a hard hit to the helmet. If you count Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest that ended a regular season game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals in January, the same thing has happened three times in the NFL this year alone.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel was visibly emotional after the game, praising Davis’ character:
“He’s a great spirit first and foremost … He did a rookie event, he sang a little song, told a story, and you could see the rest of the offense from that point on — he’s magnetic, he’s got a cool personality to him and guys really saw that from then on. The receivers already knew it. He’s a guy his teammates really root for. That tells you everything about a human being.
“He’s a popular guy amongst our team because of how he works. I had such a pleasure in his development process and was excited for a couple opportunities he was going to get. More than anything, we’re hoping for a full recovery and have had some good news.”
McDaniel also said suspending the game was the right decision “without a shadow of a doubt” and said “our guys are hurting but relieved.”
Davis is a rookie who went undrafted out of Western Kentucky in the 2023 NFL Draft. He had 37 catches, 555 receiving yards and four touchdowns in 2022 with the Hilltoppers.
