Tampa’s Defensive end, William Gholston, suffered a neck injury during the Saints game, after colliding helmets with another player. He was taken off the field on a stretcher, loaded immediately into an ambulance and taken to University Medical Center New Orleans. His trainers unscrewed his face mask, but left his helmet intact after the injury, which is common practice if there is any concern about damage to the spine. It is said that he did have movement in his arms and legs. Play continued about 8 minutes after the incident, with fans and team mates cheering on Gholston with a standing ovation.
His teammates were left wondering what happened, saying that they didn’t see the incident.
“We didn’t see it. We turned our backs and saw him on the ground, we’re praying for him. What happened on the field, it’s a tough situation. Any given play could be your last play in this league. We’re praying for the best, that nothing too serious happened to him.”, said Chris Baker.
“Nobody knew. We just saw him down. We kind of really still don’t know. You never want to see one of your family members go out, especially like that.” added Gerald McCoy.
Jameis Winston was disappointed they didn’t pull off a win for him, stating, “For somebody that plays as hard as he plays, that’s enough to make you just want to play harder.”
After the game, Coach Koetter stated, “The report I got is that Will is undergoing some neurological testing at the hospital and that right now, he’s neurologically sound. But they’re continuing to do some tests at a local hospital.”
Gholston signed a 5 year contract with the Bucs in the off-season, he has racked up 11 tackles in eight games this season.
The injury to Gholston came after the Buccaneers had already lost Jameis Winston to a shoulder injury during the game.
By the looks of the playback video, it seems as though his injury may not be severe, according to an article posted by ProFootballDoc of the San Diego Union-Tribune. However, there has not been an update on Wills condition. Rick Stroud did take to Twitter to say, ‘Will Gholston will fly home with the team to Tampa, Good news.’
We here at Bucs Report hope he has a speedy recovery and we will keep you updated.
