CHICAGO -- Chicago Bears backup safety Brandon Hardin was taken from the field on a cart because of a neck injury early in the third quarter of Chicago's 33-31 preseason win over the Washington Redskins on Saturday night.
Chicago's Lorenzo Booker had just returned the opening kickoff of the second half 105 yards for a touchdown, when Hardin went down. He was injured trying to tackle Logan Paulsen on a 19-yard pass from Kirk Cousins on the next play from scrimmage.
Hardin stayed down for about 10 minutes as medical personnel tended to him before he was placed on a stretcher and taken away on a cart. He was moving his hands and gave the thumbs-up sign as he left the field.
"Whenever you see a player get taken off on a stretcher, it's not a good thing," Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "We think Brandon Hardin will be OK. He was moving everything, alert and conscious throughout. So hopefully everything will be OK with him."
Safety Chris Conte injured his right shoulder during the game, and punter Adam Podlesh sustained a hip pointer injury while trying to tackle Washington's Brandon Banks on a 91-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press