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Raiders CB Gareon Conley says he escaped serious injury after blow to neck vs. Broncos

ryan young
Staff writer

Oakland Raiders cornerback Gareon Conley was stretchered off the field on Monday night after taking an inadvertent shot to the head from his own player.

He announced on Tuesday that he escaped severe injury and that the steps taken on the field Monday were precautionary.

Scary hit

Conley — near the end of the third quarter of their 24-16 win against the Denver Broncos at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum — was chasing down Broncos running back Royce Freeman on the sidelines, and managed to grab just a bit of Freeman’s jersey as he lost his footing and fell to the ground.

Oakland Raiders cornerback Gareon Conley leaves the game on a stretcher after taking an inadvertent leg to the helmet from his own teammate in their game against the Denver Broncos on Monday night.
Raiders cornerback Gareon Conley leaves the game on a stretcher after taking an inadvertent leg to the helmet from his own teammate in their game against the Denver Broncos on Monday night. (AP/Ben Margot)

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As Conley went down, though, Raiders rookie Johnathan Abram came flying in with his helmet lowered and drilled Freeman out of bounds. Abram’s helmet made direct contact with Freeman’s in the process, drawing the penalty.

However, as Abram was on his way to the ground, his leg swung around and nailed Conley directly on the top of his helmet, sending his head down.

Instantly, Conley’s hands grabbed his head in pain. He remained down on the field while the stadium fell quiet.

Medical staff evaluated Conley for quite some time before loading him on a stretcher to take him off the field. The 24-year-old did wave briefly and gave out a few high fives as he was loaded into the cart.

Conley is in his third season in the league, and was selected by the Raiders with their first-round pick in the 2017 NFL draft. He recorded 47 total tackles and three interceptions and one touchdown last season. He had three tackles on Monday night before suffering the injury.

The Raiders officially ruled him out of the rest of the game with a neck injury. The details of that injury are not yet known.

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