Xavier Newman injury: Jets OL carted off after scary collision with Patrick Queen

The New York Jets had a serious scare on Sunday Night Football, after offensive lineman Xavier Newman was absolutely leveled on a play by Pittsburgh linebacker Patrick Queen. It was a helmet-to-helmet collision, where Newman was launched onto the sidelines.

Queen was simply hitting Newman after an interception was thrown by Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers. He tried to complete a pass to Garrett Wilson, who dropped the ball. The Steelers’ defense then intercepted the pass, and shortly after Queen drilled Newman near the sidelines.

Shortly after he was hit, Newman began to walk back to the Jets team bench, where he collapsed on their sideline. He was conscious, but unable to move his body after being loaded onto the backboard.

Medical staff and personnel surrounded Newman on the sidelines. He was down for several minutes, before having his facemask removed and they put him on the backboard out of precaution. Jets teammates also surrounded him before they carted him off.

They took him to a local hospital for further medical treatment and evaluation.

Shortly after he was carted off the field, NBC’s Melissa Stark gave an update on Newman.

“So Mike, we’re standing right by here and we saw the athletic training staff come over immediately and all the players surround him. The first thing they did was stabilize his neck. He is conscious. They took his facemask off and he was visibly upset,” Stark explained.

“We have not seen him move any limbs at this point. They spine-boarded him and they put him on the gurney. Players are coming over and rubbing his legs and talking to him and they are preparing to take him off the field,” Stark finished.

NBC broadcast updates status of Xavier Newman

The NBC broadcast crew provided a brief update after Newman was carted off.

“We have a quick update on Jets offensive lineman Xavier Newman,” NBC sideline reporter Melissa Stark said. “He has left for the hospital. The ambulance is on its way. But we can tell you he has movement in his limbs. He squeezed the athletic training staffs hands, so a great sign there.”

The New York Jets also updated his status on their Twitter page, where he was ruled out of the game with a neck injury.

Newman went undrafted in the 2022 NFL Draft, before he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Tennessee Titans. On October 5th, 2023, he was signed to the New York Jets practice squad. He was eventually signed back to their active roster on December 16th.

His absence greatly hurts the Jets offensive line depth. Newman is the backup guard for Alijah Vera-Tucker (ankle), who is questionable to return to the game on Sunday night.

On3’s Thomas Goldkamp also contributed to this article.