JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Carolina Panthers linebacker Marquis Haynes Sr., a sixth-year pro who grew up in Jacksonville, was carted off the field in the third quarter with a concussion in Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
He was taken to a hospital for further testing and did not fly home with the team.
NBC Sports reported Haynes was transported to Baptist Medical Center and stayed overnight for testing.
Haynes tried to get up and fell back down after landing flat on his back. He tried to get up and fell again. Teammates gathered around during a long delay before he was taken for treatment. Haynes, 30, flashed a thumbs-up sign to the crowd as he left the stadium.
According to Panthers.com, teammate Brian Burns, a close friend of Haynes, called it a “scary moment.”
“Any time one of your brothers go down, it’s always a scary moment,” Burns said. “You always send a prayer in the air, you know, trying to keep them covered.”
Haynes, a University Christian graduate who was drafted out of Ole Miss in 2018, has been coming back home for years to host a free football camp for kids at his alma mater.
“Kids come out here smile and have fun and just be appreciative about their praises and stuff. I want to keep doing stuff like this for the community just to give back because there are kids that look up to me and I just want to show them, like, no matter where you are in life, you want to give back to the community, just do it. Do it for free,” Haynes said at his camp in June.
Haynes’ former high school coach was so worried about his injury that he reached out to Haynes.
“Looks like his head hit and his adrenaline kicked in and he got up and he said ‘I just blacked out when I when I got up,’” said David Penland, Haynes coach at University Christian. “It was a scary moment for everybody. I was kind of freaking out there for a little bit, but I sent him a text ‘You good?’ and he texted me back and said ‘I’m good.’ He’s hard to keep down.”
Penland said he was also encouraged to hear that Haynes gave a thumbs-up to fans. He noted all the work the 30-year-old has done in Jacksonville since he entered the NFL.
“When he got drafted, the first thing we said was, you know, he wanted to come back and do a camp, and it took about two years. And we finally did it,” Penland said.
The camp is for players ages 5 to 16 years old and teaches kids not only about the sport but also about teamwork and discipline.
“Now that I’m in the pros I have to make this a more meaningful thing to me, my main goal is to keep doing stuff like this, every year, coming up with new ideas every year, for the community,” Haynes said in 2022.
As for Haynes’ injury, his former coach is hoping he makes a full recovery, with well wishes from fans in North Carolina and Florida.
Haynes was officially diagnosed with a concussion, and it’s unclear when he’ll be able to fly back to his home in Charlotte or when he’ll take the field again.