Detroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell says he has regained full movement in his lower body as he recovers from a neck injury suffered during Sunday’s win over the Minnesota Vikings.
Campbell was carted off the field and taken to the hospital after making a tackle on Minnesota’s T.J. Hockenson. The 26-year-old, who was named a first-time All-Pro in 2025, gave an update on his condition Wednesday.
“I’m incredibly encouraged by the progress I’ve made in such a short period of time,” Campbell said in a statement. “I have full movement in my lower body, and I’m continuing to make progress with movement in my upper body. I know there’s still work ahead, but I remain very optimistic. I’m taking things one day at a time, staying positive, and focusing on getting better.”
Campbell also thanked the training and medical staff who treated him on the field. Lions head coach Dan Campbell said Tuesday that “the good news is he is improving.”
Teammate Amon-Ra St. Brown, the two-time All-Pro receiver, spoke about the moment on his podcast Wednesday, saying he watched Campbell go down from a distance on the field.
“I remember being out there on the field watching him, seeing him on the ground from a distance,” St. Brown said. “All I could think about was his wife and his newborn baby that he just had a few months ago.”
Campbell and his wife, Megan, welcomed son Cooper James in early July. St. Brown said he hopes Campbell can return to full health and play with his son.
“I just want him to be OK,” St. Brown said. “To be able to play with his kid, honestly, and be normal. When things like that happen throughout the game or throughout the season, it does make it harder for us to go back and play. It’s like, damn, we took care of him, put him on a stretcher, sent him out to the hospital and now we have to go play again. That kind of sucks. But it’s what I signed up for. It’s what we signed up for. We get paid a lot of money to play this sport that we love. So, we gotta finish the game and things like that. But injuries like that make you put things in perspective. He has done that for a lot of us on our team. I’m thinking about Jack.”
St. Brown added that the entire team is keeping Campbell in their thoughts as he continues his recovery.
“We’re all thinking about Jack. We hope he continues to get better. All we can do is pray for him,” St. Brown said.
