Detroit Lions linebacker Zack Follett does not have evidence of a spine fracture and has movement in his extremities, according to the team.
"No evidence at this point of a fracture of the cervical spine," the Lions said in a statement issued about an hour after Sunday's game. "Zack has movement in all four extremities. He will remain here (the Hackensack University Medical Center) tonight and will continue to undergo extensive tests and evaluation."
Follett was injured and carted off the field after a helmet-to-helmet collision while covering a kickoff against the New York Giants at New Meadowlands Stadium. The collision occurred with Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul in the fourth quarter of the Lions' 28-20 loss.
In the frightening collision, Follett was face down on the turf for several minutes following the play. He was attended to by medical teams of both the Lions and Giants.
"[Follett] is shorter than me, and I was trying to get lower than him for the block," Pierre-Paul said. "On special teams guys are always getting hurt. I wish him the best. It's not like I wanted to hurt anyone."
"Anytime they bring a backboard out for a player it's a scary situation," Lions coach Jim Schwartz said. "Our players were very concerned. I gathered them up on the sideline to let them know what we knew so far, but again our thoughts and our prayers go out to Zack. He's a valuable member of this team. I know he's a favorite in our locker room, he's a favorite across the city of Detroit, rightfully so."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Update: Follett posted the following message to his Twitter page on Sunday night: "Heaven was bombarded with prayer requests and they were heard! Thank you and much love to all of you showing your support. I'm OK. Thank God."
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