A terrifying scene a few days ago has evolved into something much more positive for Darrell Taylor. The Seattle Seahawks defensive end went down in the Week 6 battle with the Pittsburgh Steelers, with only minutes remaining in the game, and was subsequently carted off and taken to a local area hospital — after lying motionless on the ground. Taylor suffered what initially appeared to be a neck injury on Sunday night, but it was later revealed he had movement in all of his extremities.
The news gets better for the 24-year-old, because head coach Pete Carroll says Taylor actually has a chance to return to the field in Week 7, when the Seahawks take on the New Orleans Saints.
“[We received a] really, really positive report,” Carroll said, via ESPN. “His MRI stuff was clear. His CT scan stuff was clear. He does not have a neck injury.
“He got jammed pretty good.”
Carroll isn’t ruling Taylor in against the Saints just yet, however, but there is a chance he may not miss a game.
“We’ve got to wait and see what it’s like,” Carroll added. “It may be a little bit more in his shoulder even as we figure it out. … We’ll see how that goes. He’s got to have a good week to do that. I haven’t talked to Darrell since the MRI stuff came back.
“I talked to him last night … and he was very positive about it and all that. So we’ll see what happens. But a really, really good report, and I know a lot of people were really upset about that for good reason.
“Whenever they take a guy off like that, the threat is so huge. Anyway, he came out great, so we’ll hope for the best and he may have a chance to go this week.”
Taylor is a second-year talent grabbed by the Seahawks in the second-round of the 2020 NFL Draft, beginning his career with the team on the non-football injury list due to a collegiate injury that required offseason surgery to repair, but having since become a key component in what Carroll looks to do on defense each week. Taylor has been on the field for nearly half of the defensive snaps over the past four weeks, and any time missed would be another fracture to a Seahawks defense that can ill-afford it.
