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Is Darrell Taylor OK? Injured Seahawks DE leaves field as Steelers fans do the wave

'Do better Pittsburgh': Pittsburgh Steelers' fans were caught doing the wave after Taylor's injury, forcing Steelers players to ask them to stop

Seattle Seahawks players and fans were left shocked after Darrell Taylor was injured on October 17. The Defensive End had to be carted off in a stretcher in the fourth quarter, after a collision with teammate Al Woods. To add insult to injury, Pittsburgh Steelers fans appeared to be celebrating the injury and were caught doing the wave while Taylor was being treated. Their celebrations though were cut short after repeated signals from Steelers players', in video footage that is now going viral.

Taylor wasn't the only player to suffer a serious on-field injury this year. On August 17, Oakland A's pitcher Chris Bassitt took a line drive straight to the head, prompting him to be taken off with a bloody face. Back in June, Durham Bulls' Tyler Zomboro met with a similar injury, leading to the suspension of the game. Thankfully both have since made a full recovery. Speaking of injuries, the Chicago Bears rookie OT Teven Jenkins is currently on the mend after back surgery, and should hopefully be back this season.

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As with Zomboro and Bassitt, it appears Taylor's injury wasn't too severe. He's reportedly doing ok, but that's not what's got everyone's attention. Instead, it's the behavior of the Steelers' fans. The net was quick to slam and shame them for their behavior, leaving many shocked. 

Is Dan Taylor OK?

Late in the fourth quarter of the game at Heinz Field, Taylor dived to tackle running back Najee Harris. However, his head made contact with Woods' torso, leading to Taylor's head jerking back suddenly. Taylor then rolled over to his back and remained down prompting play to stop. Medical staff rushed to the field to administer aid, leading to a lengthy pause in the hotly contested game. 

Eventually, he was carted off the field as both the Seahawks and Steelers players formed a circle around him. Coach Pete Carroll had some encouraging words for fans at the end of the game that resulted in a 23-20 win for the Steelers. "He was so mad to be taken off the field like that. He wanted to get up, they wouldn’t let him do it … man he didn’t want any part of that," Carroll said. Luckily, it looks like there's no serious harm done.

Taylor was taken to a local trauma center, where initial scans showed no serious injuries. The DE will reportedly fly back to Seattle with the team on October 17 night. "The CT scans were clear, so that's a really good preliminary report. There's some more tests to be done and stuff like that, so we're thrilled about that news," Carroll added. So it looks like it was just a nasty scare and Taylor should hopefully be back in action for the Seahawks next game on October 26 against the New Orleans Saints. 

Steelers fans slammed: 'Absolute trash'

While the Steelers players stood in solidarity with their opponents, the fans appeared not to. Social media footage shows Steelers fans doing the wave while Taylor was being treated. The video was first uploaded to Reddit as you can see below. From there, it quickly jumped to Twitter and other platforms, where fans had plenty to say.

"Happy to hear Taylor is okay and will be traveling with the team…this report about our fans doing the wave and didn’t stop until signaled by the Steelers is atrocious. Do better Pittsburgh. Prayers to Taylor for a full recovery," one person tweeted. Another slammed, "I've been a Steelers fan since 73. Ashamed of the fans doing the wave during injured player for the Seahawks. Remember Ryan Shazier? I live in Columbus, Ohio where he played for The Ohio State University. Shame on you!" 

One user tweeted, "Steelers fans doing the wave while he's down and being attended to. Real classy." Another slammed, "Steelers fans were doing the wave while he was on the ground not moving… absolute trash fanbase." One person commented, "The steelers fans that were doing the wave while Taylor was down should be kicked out of the game and banned, so disrespectful. Hope he is all right."

It's unclear if the fans were already doing the wave when the injury happened or if it started on purpose after Taylor went down. What we do know is that it stopped after repeated signals from the Steelers players. We'll know more in the coming days about Taylor's condition, but from Carroll's initial reaction, it looks like there's not much to worry about.