Raiders OLB Philip Wheeler was still visibly shaken Tuesday afternoon, some two hours after his hit during practice sent RB Mike Goodson to the hospital, via ambulance, with a neck injury.
“I tried to pull off," Wheeler said. “I felt like I tried to pull off a little bit. I just pray for Mike Goodson, and I just hope he gets better because I don’t want that feeling that I hurt somebody that bad. I’m just going to pray.”
Wheeler hit Goodson after the RB caught a pass from Carson Palmer and turned upfield during a drill.
“I thought he was going to get up,” Wheeler said. “He’s not a big dude. He’s kind of light. I just felt as soon as I hit him, he fell, he was on the ground, and I didn’t think he was that bad off until he said something. I forgot what he said, that he couldn’t get up. That’s when I knew he was pretty bad.
“I don’t think it was helmet-to-helmet. I’ve got to look at it. It was just a bang-bang play. I’m just going to pray for him. I didn’t mean to do it. I didn’t mean to hurt him.”
Goodson, according to coach Dennis Allen, was able to move his extremities. Trainers and paramedics strapped him to a stretcher, then transferred him to the ambulance.
RB Taiwan Jones, who couldn’t practice because of an injured hamstring, stayed with Goodson when he was being examined on the field, as did injured WR Denarius Moore.
“When you’re down there and you’re hearing the ambulance coming, you could start to panic and think the worst,” Jones said. “So I just tried to stay by his side and reassure him that everything’s going to be fine. They’re just being extra cautious for your health.”
The Raiders continued practicing after Goodson was injured, working at the other end of the field
“I just had my teammates, they were in there telling me to stay focused, and coaches, too,” Wheeler said. “It’s kind of hard. I was kind of thinking about him. I was asking the trainers was he OK and stuff like that. It’s kind of hard to practice like that with that on your conscience.”
Allen said he never considered ending practice early because “our medical people really had the situation under control.” Allen, though, acknowledged that it was difficult for players and coaches to keep working.
“He’s your teammate,” Allen said. “All of us, we put a lot of hard work and effort into this job and nobody likes to see anybody get injured, especially when it happens in that regard. It’s tough to regroup but I thought our guys were able to get through the rest of practice. We’ll find out more information about how Mike’s doing and make sure we keep everybody updated."
Follow Raiders reporter Eric Gilmore on Twitter: @CBSSportsNFLOAK.
