Denver Broncos DE Derek Wolfe taken from field in ambulance, examined for spine injury

The Denver Broncos' medical staff examines Derek Wolfe after a first-quarter injury. (Elaine Thompson/AP) SEATTLE -- With 9:27 left in the first quarter of
Denver Broncos DE Derek Wolfe taken from field in ambulance, examined for spine injury
Denver Broncos DE Derek Wolfe taken from field in ambulance, examined for spine injury /

The Denver Broncos' medical staff examines Derek Wolfe after a first-quarter injury. (Elaine Thompson/AP)

The Denver Broncos' medical staff examines Derek Wolfe after a first-quarter injury. (Elaine Thompson/AP)

SEATTLE -- With 9:27 left in the first quarter of the game between the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos at Seattle's Century Link Field on Saturday, Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe was hit low by tight end Luke Willson and high by fullback Michael Robinson, and the injury he suffered on the play left him immobile on the field.

Broncos trainers came onto the field and spent a few minutes attending to Wolfe, before bringing a backboard out. Wolfe was strapped into the backboard and taken away in an ambulance, which was driven onto the field. Wolfe did not appear to move his extremities at that time, through he was strapped in tightly as a precautionary measure. Per the Broncos' staff, Wolfe was taken to a local hospital and examined for a possible cervical spine injury. We can happily report that he is moving all his extremities.

Mike Klis of the Denver Post reports that Wolfe underwent a comprehensive series of tests at the hospital -- MRI, CT scan, and X-rays -- and all were negative. From that standpoint, the news is much, much better than it first appeared to be.

GALLERY: NFL players who are out for the season, plus other injuries of note


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Doug Farrar
DOUG FARRAR

SI.com contributing NFL writer and Seattle resident Doug Farrar started writing about football locally in 2002, and became Football Outsiders' West Coast NFL guy in 2006. He was fascinated by FO's idea to combine Bill James with Dr. Z, and wrote for the site for six years. He wrote a game-tape column called "Cover-2" for a number of years, and contributed to six editions of "Pro Football Prospectus" and the "Football Outsiders Almanac." In 2009,  Doug was invited to join Yahoo Sports' NFL team, and covered Senior Bowls, scouting combines, Super Bowls, and all sorts of other things for Yahoo Sports and the Shutdown Corner blog through June, 2013. Doug received the proverbial offer he couldn't refuse from SI.com in 2013, and that was that. Doug has also written for the Seattle Times, the Washington Post, the New York Sun, FOX Sports, ESPN.com, and ESPN The Magazine.  He also makes regular appearances on several local and national radio shows, and has hosted several podcasts over the years. He counts Dan Jenkins, Thomas Boswell, Frank Deford, Ralph Wiley, Peter King, and Bill Simmons as the writers who made him want to do this for a living. In his rare off-time, Doug can be found reading, hiking, working out, searching for new Hendrix, Who, and MC5 bootlegs, and wondering if the Mariners will ever be good again.