Lions WR Jermaine Kearse Carted Off Field After Suffering Broken Leg In First Series Vs. Patriots
BOSTON (CBS) -- The one thing every team hopes for when it comes to the preseason is the avoidance of injuries. For the Lions, that hope was shattered in the opening series of the opening game of the preseason.
Veteran wide receiver Jermaine Kearse, who signed a one-year deal with the Lions this past offseason, suffered a lower-body injury on just the fifth offensive snap of the game.
The play -- which didn't even count, due to a holding penalty on Lions lineman Kenny Wiggins -- involved Kearse blocking up the right sideline. As running back Ty Johnson ran up the sideline, Patriots defensive back Terrence Brooks came flying in to make a tackle attempt. Brooks missed the tackle and ended up rolling right into Kearse's lower body.
Kearse went down and remained on the turf, eventually needing to be helped to a cart and taken off the field, just 2:47 into the preseason.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that Kearse suffered a broken leg, as well as damage to his ankle.
Kearse, 29, caught 37 passes for 371 yards and a touchdown last season, his second year with the Jets. In is career with the Seahawks and Jets, he's caught 255 passes for 3,290 yards and 17 yards.
