Seemingly every other game in the NFL these days, there's a scary injury that requires transportation and tests at the hospital. Just in the past few weeks, Jalen Hurts' blood clots and Terry McLaurin's awful leg injury were major stories around the league.

During Thursday night's game, that injury went to Green Bay Packers star wide receiver Christian Watson. On a play that also hurt a defensive back.

Watson was in the middle of a huge night against the Carolina Panthers at Lambeau Field, racking up six catches for 100 receiving yards in the first half. His big play came when he brought in a 53-yard catch on a deep ball from Jordan Love about midway through the second quarter, setting the Packers up in great field position as they drove down for another score.

But he hit the ground hard while colliding with Panthers cornerback Will Lee III, and was slow to get up. Lee himself also had to be helped to his feet thanks to a hamstring injury, eventually needing the cart to leave the field.

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But Watson's injury, at first glance, seemed more serious. The 27-year-old was transported in an ambulance to a hospital near Lambeau Field, undergoing precautionary checks for a chest injury, while Lee was deemed doubtful to return to the game himself. But that's where the story gets crazier, and so much better.

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Not long after leaving for the hospital, Watson, miraculously, returned to Lambeau Field. Quite literally driven back to the stadium in the ambulance, cameras caught him running out of the tunnel back in full pads to, unsurprisingly, a raucous reception from the home crowd.

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Seems like Watson either never got out of pads while going to the hospital, going through medical tests while in full uniform, or did an extremely fast quick change. Then he was driven back to the stadium in an ambulance, running directly from the tunnel out to the field. Less than an hour after sustaining what looked to be a scary, and painful, injury.

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And sure enough, Watson returned to the game not long afterward. Even pulling in another reception, as Love found him for a six-yard completion in Carolina territory right at the start of the fourth quarter. Incredible.

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That drive wound up in a Love interception, but the Packers still took a 27-13 lead into the middle part of the fourth quarter. And they have their star wide receiver back, somehow, after a brief detour to a local hospital. Not that most fans doubt NFL players are tough, but absolutely nobody will be questioning Christian Watson's toughness and commitment to his team anytime soon.

A recent study found that roughly 75% of deceased NFL players had at least some case of CTE.

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive, degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head impacts rather than a single injury, according to the Mayo Clinic.

The study from Boston University researchers consisted of more than 2,300 deceased former players aged 80 or older who died between 2008 and 2023, nearly 400 of whom were donors.

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Out of the 396 who donated their brains to research, 93.5% of them were diagnosed. Researchers estimated that former NFL players with clear cognitive symptoms were roughly five times more likely to donate their brains than those without such symptoms.

Donors also died younger on average - 67 years old compared to almost 75.

CTE can only be diagnosed after death and is identified in four stages, with stage 4 being the worst.

"Many cases may have been early stage at the time of death and possibly symptom free," the study noted.

The study also estimated that 27.2% of the players had a history of all-cause dementia during life, but it did not conclude whether dementia was caused by CTE.

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A study released in August found that at least 1 in 4 people who have played in the NFL might expect to end up with CTE at some point in their lives.

The symptoms found in those with CTE include memory loss, mood swings, erratic behavioral actions and more.

While the disease was first found in boxers, it has become associated with football players in this modern era due to the repeated blows to the head sustained on every snap of the ball. It has, however, also been found in athletes participating in hockey, rugby and other sports.

But its connection to football became public when beloved players like Junior Seau, Mike Webster, Frank Gifford and others were diagnosed with CTE after their deaths. Webster was dubbed "Patient Zero" after Dr. Bennet Omalu examined his brain and became the first to diagnose an NFL player with CTE, jump-starting a concussion crisis within the game.

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There were 168 documented in-game concussions during the 2025 NFL season, which was a 30% increase from the 129 recorded during the 2024 campaign. There were a total of 538 evaluations and 26 medical timeouts as well.

OutKick's Scott Thompson contributed to this report.