Cardinals’ Mike Iupati OK after leaving Seattle game with neck injury

Nov 15, 2015, 7:46 PM | Updated: Nov 16, 2015, 8:26 am

An ambulance is brought in to take injured Arizona Cardinals guard Mike Iupati off the field after a play against the Seattle Seahawks during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2015, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

BY KEVIN ZIMMERMAN

ArizonaSports.com lead editor

Arizona Cardinals guard Mike Iupati left the Sunday night game against the Seattle Seahawks on a stretcher after taking a hit to the head.

The team said Iupati was taken to the hospital and had feeling in all extremities. There, a CT scan and an MRI came back “normal.”

He was released before the game ended and will fly back to Arizona with his teammates.

“He’s fine, he’s been cleared. He’s OK and he’s good to go, so that was the best news,” head coach Bruce Arians announced after the game, which was won by the Cardinals 39-32.

With backup left guard Ted Larsen a healthy scratch, Earl Watford took over for Iupati. Watford had been on the inactive list for the last three weeks.

Iupati was injured when Seattle safety Kam Chancellor hit him in the head.

Can see Seahawks team doc Stan Herring among those tending to Iupati. Has led the NFL’s head, neck and spine committee.

— Mike Sando, ESPN.com (@SandoESPN) November 16, 2015

The Cardinals signed Iupati, the former San Francisco 49er Pro Bowler, to bolster their offensive line this season and the results with him have been impressive. Running back Chris Johnson is one of the NFL’s best running backs with 676 rushing yards to this point, while Carson Palmer has put up MVP-type numbers through the air.

This isn’t the first time the Cardinals offensive line has played without Iupati. He missed the first three games of the season after requiring knee surgery in mid-August, and Arizona went 3-0 to begin the year.

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