GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Cardinals ended Thursday's training camp practice early after linebacker J.J. Russell was carted off the field following a collision during a 7 on 7 drill.
He was taken to a local hospital, where was being evaluated for a head and neck injury, the team said in a statement on X. The statement went on to say that Russell was alert and had movement in his extremities.
Russell and rookie Kitan Crawford ran into each other as they were crossing paths at full speed while attempting to change their position on the field while covering receivers. Their helmets appeared to collide and Russell flailed in mid-air before falling to the ground, where he did not move as Cardinals' trainers and medical personnel attended to him quickly. Crawford got up and walked off.
Paramedics attended to Russell, stabilized him on a back board and then carted him off the field. Before the cart drove off, the entire team gathered around him to send their best wishes.
The entire situation took about 10 minutes between hit and Russell being carted off.
Before practice restarted, coach Jonathan Gannon gathered the team at midfield and ended practice about six minutes earlier than it was scheduled to.
"I mean you never want to see that," veteran defensive tackle Calais Campbell said after practice. "It sucks. Hopefully everything's okay. We'll see as the process goes through, we'll see how everything works out, but I was happy to see him moving around and stuff, so it sucks, but one of those things that happens in football.
"I've been carted off before and everything was fine, so I'm just praying everything's fine with him."
Russell signed a one-year deal with the Cardinals in May worth $1.1 million. He spent the first three seasons of his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2022. He played in 30 games with four starts for Tampa and had 36 tackles, two passes defensed, a sack and a tackle for loss in three years. He also had 13 tackles and a fumble recovery on special teams.
He set career highs with 16 games played, three starts, 25 tackles and two passes defensed last season.
