Former NFL star and NBC analyst Rodney Harrison has sparked concern among fans after freezing on the microphone during a live broadcast.
Ex-Patriots star Harrison, 52, joined NBC’s analyst team for the Sunday Night Football clash between the Denver Broncos and Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium.
After a typical start to their broadcast, things took a worrying turn after Harrison went blank and was unable to answer a simple question about the game.
Harrison was asked about what he believed to be ‘the best way to attack’ the Commanders on the night, to which he momentarily paused before asking the question to be repeated.
Once it was, he said: ‘The best way to attack them… There’s a lot of stuff going on, I’m sorry. They don’t have a lot of discipline on the defensive side of the ball.
‘That’s it. I’m sorry guys,’ he awkwardly finished.
Former NFL star Rodney Harrison has sparked concern after blank during NBC’s broadcast
Harrison was unable to answer a simple question before apologizing to viewers for the mishap
Fans were left bemused by the incident and took to social media to send their best wishes to the former professional football safety.
‘Sure hope he is ok,’ one user wrote on X.
Another said: ‘It looks like he just got some really bad news’.
‘Something not right with Rodney Harrison tonight #SNFonNBC,’ one fan wrote.
However, some fans played down the incident and suggested that, instead, Harrison had become distracted by chatter in his earpiece and lost his train of thought.
One fan said: ‘I could be wrong. But it looks like a producer is just yapping in his ear while he’s trying to listen to the question’.
‘Looks like someone might have been talking to him in his earpiece at the same time Tony asked the question,’ another wrote.
One fan said: ‘I think he was listening to his head set and may have gotten some bad news.’
Some fans were left concerned over Harrison’s wellbeing after the bizarre incident
Others suggested that his earpiece may have lead to the embarrassing on-air moment
While Harrison’s mishap may have caught attention briefly, discussions centered around the return of Alex Singleton – just three weeks on from emergency surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from one of his testicles.
Singleton, 31, shocked the NFL on November 10 when he announced that he had been under the knife just hours after playing in his team’s Thursday Night Football win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
He missed a big win over the Kansas City Chiefs on November 16, but is now set for a remarkable return just 23 days on from his surgery.
The news was revealed by ESPN’s senior NFL insider Adam Schefter, who said the linebacker is ‘expected to play on Sunday night vs. the Commanders.’