Bucs QB Wolford carted off due to neck injury

Jenna Laine, ESPN Staff WriterAug 19, 2023, 10:24 PM ET
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback John Wolford suffered a neck injury in the second half of Saturday night’s second preseason game against the New York Jets in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and was taken to a local hospital for evaluation, the team announced.

Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles said on Sunday that Wolford was released from the hospital and traveled back with the team to Tampa Bay.

“He’s feeling better. He’s moving around so that’s the best we can offer right now. That came out pretty good, so we’ll see how he recovers,” Bowles said.

The Bucs announced on Saturday night that Wolford had movement in his extremities.

“He got his movement back in his arm,” Bowles said after the 13-6 win. “It kind of went numb a little bit. He got his movement back, and it seems to be OK.”

Wolford had just come in to relieve Kyle Trask in the third quarter and was hit from the side on a sack by Jets defensive end Jalyn Holmes, causing him to fall face-first onto the field. He was on the ground for several seconds, with the entire Buccaneers team leaving the sideline to gather around him before athletic trainers loaded him onto a stretcher.

“We’re all hoping the best for him and praying for him,” Trask said of Wolford. “Still haven’t gotten the word back on what had happened, but wishing all the best to him because that’s tough to see. It’s also tough because there’s a whole other half of football to be played. But I thought the guys did a great job coming together, staying focused, knowing that we still had a game to finish, and I thought we did a good job just rallying together.”

Wolford was sidelined with a neck injury last season when he was with the Los Angeles Rams after stepping in for an injured Matthew Stafford.

He was having a particularly strong training camp this summer, at times even outperforming Baker Mayfield and Trask in practices despite being projected as the third quarterback on the depth chart. Some would even argue that Wolford had the top play in Bucs training camp, heaving an 80-yard touchdown pass to undrafted free agent Kade Warner, son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner.

Wolford had completed 14 of 21 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown this preseason with no interceptions before the injury Saturday.

The other quarterbacks have credited him for helping them assimilate into offensive coordinator Dave Canales’ new offense, with Canales calling him the “smartest guy in the room on day one.”