Antone Exum knew he was badly hurt during a game earlier this month. But even with thoughts about his own mortality crossing his mind, the Minnesota Vikings' safety chose to stay in the game.
"Thoughts went through my head: 'I could die out there,' just for the simple fact that I didn't know what the problem was," Exum told the St. Paul Pioneer Press in an email. "But I knew we didn't have anyone else (to play) safety."
Exum suffered a fractured rib and an injured AC joint in his shoulder trying to tackle Seattle Seahawks tight end Luke Willson in the first quarter of a game Dec.