FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- A serious scene drew silence among the fans at Gillette Stadium as Detroit Lions safety Saivion Smith was carted off the field in an ambulance during the opening quarter against the New England Patriots.
Smith's father and uncle joined him in the ambulance from the stands after Lions teammates circled around him.
Smith was evaluated for a neck injury at the hospital. He has movement in his extremities.
"Everybody was concerned about Saivion so, yeah, that was a sigh of relief," Lions coach Dan Campbell said of learning Smith demonstrated movement in his extremities.
It's hard to see "your brother or teammate have that happen, but that doesn't change the way we played," quarterback Jared Goff said after the 29-0 loss.
Despite the emotional toll, Goff wouldn't use Smith's injury as an excuse for Sunday's defeat.
"I'm sure some guys were rattled," Goff said. "You see your guy get stretchered off, that can kind of set you back for a second, but by no means is that a reason why (we lost)."
Smith, in his second season out of Alabama, was a surprise starter for the Lions on Sunday after being elevated from the practice squad Saturday.
Campbell said the Lions are going to try to get Smith back on the team plane so he can come home with the team.