Mike Patterson, Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle, is undergoing further tests at Lehigh Valley Hospital after suffering a seizure during morning practice at training camp today.
300 pound Patterson dropped to the ground this morning and began shaking uncontrollably as blood spewed from his mouth. He was immediately tended to by trainer Rick Burkholder and his staff, with help from his teammate, rookie offensive lineman Danny Watkins, a trained firefighter.
As players kneeled nearby, holding hands and praying, an ambulance arrived and Patterson was placed on a stretcher and lifted into the ambulance.
The seizure lasted about four minutes, Patterson losing consciousness at one point while he was on the ground.
The linemen resumed practice after about 15 minutes and the skill position players did 7-on-7 drills on another field while Patterson was down.
Patterson’s agent JR Ricket said in a statement that the player is “in no pain and doing well.”
“Chances are really good we’re going to keep him in overnight for observation,” Burkholder said. “The only thing that we’ve really ruled out, he didn’t have any bleeding in his brain or anything like that. The bleeding that some of you saw was that he bit his tongue, they’ve confirmed that, and they’re running more tests on him right now.”
“But he’s very stable. He wants to come back to training camp, but he’s over there being observed, but that’s pretty normal for somebody who has a seizure. Standard protocol says keep him in overnight to watch him and keep some monitors on him and whatnot.”
There is currently no timetable for Patterson’s return.
Patterson, 28, was the Eagles’ first-round pick out of Southern California in 2005. He’s started 84 games and played in 95. No player on the roster has played more snaps for the Eagles than him.
With Patterson and fellow defensive lineman Trevor Laws (hip) both possibly out for a while, the Eagles agreed to terms with veteran tackles Anthony Hargrove and Derek Landri.