Former IU quarterback Green suffers "pretty severe head trauma"

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- As Trent Green lay motionless on the turf at Arrowhead Stadium, more than 77,000 fans sat motionless in their seats.\nHis feet were not moving, nor were his hands. It was tough to tell if the popular quarterback, who for five years had been so indestructible, was even breathing.\nFrom the moment Cincinnati's Robert Geathers unleashed a brutal hit until word came that the quarterback had regained consciousness, little was said at the Bengals-Chiefs game Sunday.\n"You just start praying," backup quarterback Damon Huard said. "You think about him, his family and his health."\nChiefs General Manager Carl Peterson said Green had "pretty severe head trauma" but regained all his senses and feeling in his arms and legs.\n"Actually," Peterson said after the 23-10 Bengals win, "when he did wake up, he remembered every play except the one that knocked him out."\nPeterson said Green was taken to a hospital where preliminary X-rays of his head and neck came back negative.\n"His family, including his wife Julie, is with him, and we're going to be cautiously optimistic that he's going to be back," Peterson said. "But he's certainly got a headache right now."\nThe blow came late in the third quarter as Green attempted a feet-first hook-slide. Geathers charged in and appeared to hit Green's head or chest with his shoulder, snapping his head back hard into the turf.\nThe shot caused even Geathers to pause. He stood on the Cincinnati sideline when play resumed 11 minutes later, re-entering the game a few plays later.\n"It's an unfortunate situation, and my prayers go out to his family and him, and I hope he recovers," Geathers said. "We were just playing ball, flying around, and I know he understands that. He's played a long time."\nThe hit was viewed as a cheap shot by many in the Kansas City locker room, including defensive end Tamba Hali, who said referee Larry Nemmers told him no penalty was called because Gathers was airborne and unable to stop himself.\n"This league is supposed to protect the quarterback," said Hali, shaking his head. "The comment from the ref was he was in the air. You can't have helmet-to-helmet because you can't control yourself in the air, but at least a call should have been made."\nKennison sat in front of his locker after the game and attempted to rationalize Green's loss as just another injury in a game that is full of them.\nHe realized that a quarterback who had started 81 consecutive games and was the consummate team leader will be difficult to replace -- if that becomes necessary.\n"Whenever you lose any one of your teammates, it's a huge loss. He's a man before anything, and we don't want anybody to get hurt," Kennison said. "He might have a headache or something for a couple days, but if I know Trent Green, he'll probably be ready next week."\nThe 13-year NFL veteran Green was drafted in the eighth round of the 1993 draft by the San Diego Chargers. Green, a former Hoosier, threw 23 touchdowns during his tenure at IU from 1989-1992, good for sixth on the all-time list. He also ranks fourth on the all-time list with 5,400 passing yards and third in career completions with 421.