Thursday night's NFL game between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears was overshadowed by a terrifying hit on Packers receiver Davante Adams by Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan.
The NFL announced on Saturday that
In the third quarter, Adams caught a pass in the red zone and was surrounded by several Bears defenders.
As Adams tried to push forward, Trevathan lowered his helmet and launched from the side. Their helmets collided, and Adams' head snapped back. The hit was so violent that Adams' mouthpiece went flying.
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Here's the hit:
Adams was taken off the field on a stretcher. He gave fans a thumbs-up as he left and was taken to a local hospital. The Packers reported that Adams had movement in all extremities.
The hit was a scary reminder of the violence and possible repercussions of football. According to ESPN's Kevin Seifert, the NFL was able to act, thanks to a new sort-of-zero-tolerance policy: Certain hits can result in ejections or suspensions, even on the first offense.
Seifert reported that NFL vice president Troy Vincent had said the league wanted to eliminate "catastrophic" hits, which fits the bill for what happened to Adams.
Trevathan said after the game that he did not intend to hurt Adams and that he planned to reach out to him. Trevathan also defended himself, saying it wasn't a dirty hit because he's not a dirty player.
However, regardless of Trevathan's intent, the NFL may have needed to punish him to set a precedent. The league has already tried to cut helmet-to-helmet hits, and Trevathan's tackle was exactly the type of unnecessary takedown it's trying to eliminate.