Rollins progressing well after night in hospital
GREEN BAY — Green Bay Packers cornerback Quinten Rollins is progressing well after leaving Sunday's game on a backboard following an awkward fall along the sideline.
Rollins, who was quickly ruled out with a neck injury, spent the night in a Detroit hospital and returned to Green Bay on Monday. He passed through the locker room briefly while reporters were present but did not speak to the media.
"Everything is progressing in a positive manner," coach Mike McCarthy said in his news conference. " ... But we still have some things we have to test. But everything so far is going very well."
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Rollins remained down along the Lions' sideline after tumbling over the top of wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr., who made a 30-yard reception with Rollins in pursuit. The second-year defensive back from Miami (Ohio) landed in a sitting position but did not rise to his feet. He turned his head slightly but was quickly stabilized by the medical staff.
"You never want to see a guy get taken out on a stretcher," cornerback Damarious Randall said. "The team was just pulling closer together and we just knew that we were going to fight for him. That just shows about the brotherhood that we have here."
Players from both teams dropped to a knee for several minutes as trainers tended to Rollins late in the third quarter. Many of his teammates on defense offered words of encouragement as Rollins was loaded onto a backboard and carted off the field. An ambulance took him to the hospital immediately.
"Everything so far is going very well," McCarthy said. "We feel good about it. Like I said, he just walked through the locker room not long ago. There’s still some tests that we have to go through, but he spent the night in the hospital in Detroit and so far so good."
Though the end result of Sunday evening was positive for the Packers — they held off the Lions to win the NFC North title and secure at least one home playoff game — the toll it took on the secondary was not.
In addition to Rollins, whose status for Sunday and beyond remains uncertain, the Packers lost Randall (knee/shoulder) and cornerback Makinton Dorleant (knee) over the course of the game. By the time Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford threw a late interception to close things out, the Packers were using two safeties as their slot corners and Micah Hyde, a corner-safety hybrid, out on the perimeter opposite LaDarius Gunter.
"We’ve got a lot of versatile guys," Randall said. "That’s why they drafted guys like that, just in case things like that happen and guys are ready for the challenge."
Added Hyde: "That’s the stuff we practice. We do it in practice all the time, switch it up. Putting Morgan (Burnett) in the slot, putting me outside, putting Ha Ha (Clinton-Dix) in the box, putting (Rollins) inside and out. We do that a lot, so it’s nothing new. It’s new to be in the game and do it, but we practice it a lot."
As with Rollins, the potential availability for Randall and Dorleant will be determined later in the week. Randall, who entered the game with a shoulder injury, bumped knees with someone in the first quarter and was hobbled the rest of the way. He returned briefly before dropping out a final time in the third quarter.
Randall would not discuss his injuries with reporters.
"I really can’t disclose my injuries," Randall said. Just taking it day by day. I’m not really into disclosing injuries before the playoffs."
Dorleant, the undrafted free agent from Northen Iowa, injured his knee trying to change direction during a special-teams play. He described the turf in Ford Field as "sticky" and said it was not the best playing surface.
Dorleant was in good spirits in the locker room Monday but walked with a bit of a limp. By the time reporters left after an hour, Dorleant was using the crutches that had been leaning in his locker. He is waiting for the swelling to go down before undergoing an MRI.
"We probably have about three or four guys that we don’t have all the information in," McCarthy said. "This is how it usually goes. It usually sorts itself out at some point tomorrow where we can start setting the plan."