Jets' Elijah Riley 'Checked Out Fine' After Scary Neck Injury

Originally posted on FanNation Jets Country
By Max Goodman | Last updated 12/19/21

Jets safety Elijah Riley "checked out fine" after a scary collision in the third quarter of Sunday's loss to the Dolphins , according to New York's head coach Robert Saleh.

Hard Rock Stadium was practically silent for several minutes after Riley was looked at by team doctors, laying motionless on the ground. With players from both teams kneeling across the field, the safety was slowly strapped onto an emergency spine board.

At one point, as he was driven off the field, Riley raised his fist, drawing applause from the crowd.

The gut-wrenching injury occurred on Miami's first drive of the second half. On a screen to running back Duke Johnson, Riley was hit unintentionally by his teammate Kyle Phillips as he sprinted in from the secondary, trying to make the tackle. CBS Sports elected not to show a replay of the incident.

"That was tough," cornerback Bryce Hall said after the game. "He's a warrior and one of the things we know we're going to get out of him is he's going to go 100 miles per hour, full speed and so that was tough to see our brother go down like that."

Riley was quickly ruled out for the game with a neck injury. Saleh was able to reveal to reporters postgame that Riley is good, he has regained motion and will travel back to New York with the team. No further details are available at this time.

"We play a violent game and you never want to see something like that, especially a guy getting carted off," Hall added. "That's the worst part about playing this game. We were a little bit down, but obviously that's not an excuse."

At the time of the injury, the Jets were winning 17-10, looking to carry over a strong first half performance into the third quarter. The Dolphins went on to score a touchdown on that drive, outscoring the Jets 21-7 the rest of the way in a 31-24 victory.

"It's tough for anyone," Saleh said. "These guys put in so much work and to see one of their own—even for the Dolphins players to see Elijah down—I can tell you it's not comfortable for anybody."

Riley, 23, played college ball at Army, securing some playing time in New York's secondary after a season-ending injury to veteran safety Marcus Maye. Sunday was Riley's fifth start with the Jets, entering play with one sack and 28 tackles in green and white.

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