The first thing you should know is that Washington Commanders linebacker Leo Chenal is out of Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks after suffering a neck injury and being carted off the field. However, he was seen moving as he left the field.
Chenal gave a fist pump and waved his hand as he was carted away, which obviously shows he has movement in his extremities.
Leo Chenal #54 of the Washington Commanders goes down with an injury against the Seattle Seahawks during the second quarter at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md., on Sept. 27, 2026. (Getty Images)
KYLER MURRAY KNOCKED OUT OF VIKINGS DEBUT AFTER FOREARM TO THE HELMET AND BLOW TO NECK BY TWO PACKERS
But the scene in the minutes before that was ugly.
And familiar.
Chenal injured his neck while tackling Seahawks running back Emanuel Wilson. And, unfortunately, the injury was probably of Chenal’s own making because he not only led with his head but also tucked his head down leading to the compression of the neck, rather than keeping his head up.
Chenal collapsed to the ground after the blow and was motionless for a moment.
Soon, teammates gathered around the defensive leader as he was being attended to by medical personnel on the field. He was placed on a spine board and carted off.
WASHINGTON COMMANDERS FACE SEASON-DEFINING CRISIS AS JAYDEN DANIELS SUFFERS ANOTHER SERIOUS ELBOW INJURY
Washington Commanders players watch as medical staff attend to Jayden Daniels #5 in the second quarter of a game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Sept. 20, 2026. (Getty Images)
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The Commanders announced Chenal would not return to the game.
Coach Dan Quinn was seen on the FOX broadcast looking skyward and then exhaling deeply as he took in the moment. That’s understandable.
The Commanders are basically still recovering from the terrible elbow dislocation to quarterback Jaylen Daniels last week. And like last week, players gathered around a fallen teammate as he was being attended to.
In a repeat of the previous week, once again, the teammate had to be carted off the field.
It doesn’t mean getting carted off the field always means a player’s life or movement or ability to ever play again are at risk. But it is nonetheless jarring.
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels gets into a cart with a towel over his head before leaving the game with an apparent left arm injury during the second half against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Sept. 20, 2026. (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
JAYDEN DANIELS EXPECTED BACK WITHIN A MONTH AS COMMANDERS RULE OUT SURGERY ON DISLOCATED ELBOW
The Commanders are amazingly rallying following last week’s Daniels and this week’s Chenal injuries.
They were leading the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks 24-10 well into the second half.
Marcus Mariota, playing for the injured Daniels, has thrown three touchdown passes.
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