SANTA CLARA – Rookie linebacker Donavin Newsom sustained an apparent neck injury Tuesday and was taken off the practice field in an ambulance.
Newsome sustained the injury when he and safety Chanceller James collided while converging on a pass intended for wide receiver Trent Taylor.
Newsome remained motionless on the field for nearly 15 minutes while the team’s medical staff evaluated him and gathered around him while taking a knee. He was transported to Stanford Hospital for further evaluation. Coach Kyle Shanahan abruptly ended practice.
"It puts things in perspective when you see that happen," Shanahan said. "It’s scary down there any time you have a guy on the ground for that long. We got a lot of information we got to find out. The encouraging part that I can say, is that his eyes were open. He did have feeling in his lower half and his hands. That’s the encouraging part about it...We’re praying for the best.
"I think it will be all right, but you never know."
Newsom signed as an undrafted rookie from Missouri. He sustained a neck injury in practice Thursday that kept him out of practice for two days. Newsom returned to full practice on Monday.
When asked he if communicated with Newsom while he was on the ground, being treated by Dr. Anthony Saglimbeni and head athletic trainer Jeff Ferguson, Shanahan answered, "No one did."
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Shanahan added: "I did see his eyes open, so he wasn’t knocked out the whole time. But he was sitting there resting. They didn’t want him to move. They were being very safe with it. We tried to give him our distance and tried to keep him as relaxed as possible. Let the people who know what they’re doing do their job."
