Titans receiver Treylon Burks flew back to Nashville with team, never went to hospital

Treylon Burks lunged to catch the fourth-down pass. As he fell out of bounds, cameras showed him hit the back of his head. The Titans receiver then didn’t move.

This all unfolded during Thursday Night Football. Suddenly, a game between the Titans and Steelers at Acrisure Stadium didn’t matter that much. But although the scene looked so scary, there is good news.

Treylon Burks walked out of the lockerroom on his own. He stopped to talk to a Tennessee coach, then headed to the team buses to catch a plane back to Nashville.

Titans coach Mike Vrabel provided more details, Friday. Burks now is in concussion protocol. He was unconscious for a brief time after he hit his head Thursday night. The coach and receiver exchanged texts Friday morning and he was on his way to the Titans football complex.

On Thursday night, Vrabel said of Treylon Burks. “He is back there being evaluated. I would say the way it looked – it is better than how it looked. So, he is alert, and he is in the training room being evaluated.”

Vrabel said Burks never needed to go to the hospital. In the minutes after the injury, the athletic trainers strapped him to a backboard. They did not take off his helmet, but the trainers were able to remove his facemask. An ambulance was on standby at Acrisure Stadium. But Burks, who was accompanied by a team neurologist, had X-rays at the stadium and then was treated in the training room.

The time of the game added to the drama. The Titans were down 20-16 to the Steelers, but had the ball as the clock ticked towards the two minute warning. On a fourth-and-four from the Titans 46, rookie quarteback Will Levis looked deep for Burks. Steelers DB Levi Wallace was covering Burks. Then we see that Burks couldn’t control the catch. He hit the turf hard, with his elbow absorbing some of the impact. But the injury apparently happened when he hit the back of his head.

Steelers fans gave Treylon Burks a standing ovation as the cart took him across the field. He gave then a thumbs up. His stat line for the night — five catches for 23 yards and a rush for five yards. Levis threw his way three times.

The Titans selected Burks, the former Arkansas Razorback, in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. As a rookie, Burks caught 33 passes. With five starts this season, Burks has eight catches.