Branden Jackson suffers scary head injury during Seahawks mock game

The Seattle Seahawks ended scrimmage early after Branden Jackson left in an ambulance

The NFL preseason is being run differently due to the presence of the coronavirus. This year, there will be no games played in the lead-up to the 2020 regular season with the purpose of preventing a potential spread of COVID-19. In place of preseason contests, teams will hold in-house scrimmage games to get players ready for the start of the campaign.

On Saturday, the Seattle Seahawks held a mock game inside CenturyLink Field, but it ended under scary circumstances. Defensive end Branden Jackson was knocked out and carted off the field following a helmet-to-helmet collision with offensive lineman Cedric Ogbuehi. Jackson was eventually loaded into an ambulance and taken to a local hospital.

After practice, Wilson told the media that Jackson’s injury was tough to watch, but expresses his belief that he’ll be okay.

Jackson expected to be fine despite scary collision

Head coach Pete Carroll compared Jackson’s injury to that of taking a “knockout punch,” but said the edge rusher was moving his extremities upon being carted off the field. After players and coaches knelt and waited over ten minutes for Jackson to leave in an ambulance, Carroll decided to end the game altogether.

Jackson, a former Texas Tech defensive end, initially signed with the then-Oakland Raiders back in 2016 as an undrafted free agent. He ended up joining the Seahawks’ in 2017 as a practice squad member before being promoted to the active roster. Jackson re-signed with Seattle back in April, was released on July 26 and ultimately inked to a new deal earlier this month.

Through his three seasons with the Seahawks, Jackson has tallied 41 total tackles, seven quarterback hits and 3.5 sacks.

An update on Jackson’s condition should be provided by Sunday the earliest.