Aidan Hutchinson was carted off the field Sunday during the Detroit Lions' game against the Cowboys, suffering an injury so gruesome broadcasters refused to replay it.
The injury happened when Hutchinson sacked Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. Video footage appeared to show Hutchinson's leg hit by teammate Alim McNeill during the sack.
The Fox broadcast stopped showing replays of the injury, deeming it to be too gruesome.
Aidan Hutchinson is down after the previous play. pic.twitter.com/1l1kTN7Blb
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 13, 2024
Hutchinson was surrounded by players from both teams as he was transported to the locker room. He was deemed "out" for the game with a lower leg injury at the time.
Before being carted off, players from both teams came over to show Aidan Hutchinson some love 🙏 pic.twitter.com/P5Ne4SI8iQ
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 13, 2024
Video footage of the injury was ultimately posted on social media, shocking many viewers.
Jeff Mueller, a doctor of physical therapy, tweeted a clip calling it a "brutal injury."
"Often see these in MMA with the shin block during leg kicks," he wrote.
According to NBC News, Lions coach Dan Campbell said Hutchinson underwent immediate surgery at a Dallas-area hospital for a fractured tibia.
"He's in good hands right now. He's being taken care of," Campbell said during a postgame news conference. "He'll stay back here. Obviously he's going to be down for a little while. It's hard when you lose somebody like him, but we'll know a lot more after this."
The Lions won the game 47-9. Members of the defense dedicated their victory to Hutchinson.
"We know how much Hutch means to this team, to this defense alone. He's a tone-setter and to see him go down like that... you ain't never wish that on none of us … we all knew we had to do it for Hutch," Brian Branch said after the game.
"It's really tough. He was a guy who was a part of the heartbeat of this team - a leader, does everything right, a great teammate," Lions QB Jared Goff said. "He's everything you want in a player and teammate and to have him go down like that and be visibly upset, it's tough for all of us. He will be fine. He's gonna come back eventually, whenever that may be, but knowing him he will be fine and he will bounce back."
This story first appeared on NBCChicago.com.
