What Happened to AJ Hawk’s Eye? Cornea Injury, Explained

The Gist:

• Frequent Pat McAfee Show co-host AJ Hawk showed up on Nov. 13, 2023, sporting an eyepatch.
• AJ explained that he had sustained the injury after he tried to pick up his son and was poked in the eye.
• AJ said he’s expected to make a full recovery.

Thanks in large part to Aaron Rodgers’s frequent appearances on the show, The Pat McAfee Show has become an important place to go if you want to understand at least some of what’s happening in the NFL. Aaron isn’t the only reason viewers tune in, though. Many people are just fans of the show in general.

Anyone who tuned in on Nov. 13, 2023, undoubtedly saw that the show was being co-hosted by AJ Hawk, who was sporting a large patch on one of his eyes. After AJ debuted the patch, many wanted to better understand exactly what happened to his eye. Here’s what we know about the injury.

AJ showed up to the show wearing sunglasses and an eyepatch, and he briefly revealed that he had a massive cotton swab covering up his entire right eye. After debuting that patch, AJ explained that he had sustained the injury courtesy of his son, Axel, who had scratched out about one-third of his cornea. AJ, who was once a linebacker for the Green Bay Packers, also explained in more detail how the accident occurred.

AJ said that he tried to pick up his son on Nov. 12. He said that Axel “threw up his hands so fast, his thumb went about six inches deep into my eyeball.” AJ added that a doctor told him that the injury had resulted in the loss of a third of his cornea.

The show’s other hosts looked shocked, and it’s clear that AJ didn’t tell them that he would be showing up looking so debilitated.

While the panel’s initial reaction was shock, they quickly moved past that to begin making fun of AJ. One co-host even asked AJ if he was blind. AJ did explain that the injury had impaired his vision.

“I can’t see anything. I can barely see anything now.”

Thankfully, AJ also made it clear that he’s expected to make a full recovery from the injury, which is great news.

AJ is a regular co-host of the Pat McAfee Show, which airs every weekday on ESPN.

“Hope everything goes OK, President Hawk! Get better soon!” one commenter wrote on YouTube.

“Even the Hawkman is powerless against the true menace, the Human Child,” another added.

“On the bright side, at least this will keep AJ off the roads,” a third wrote, making fun of AJ’s well-known reputation as a menace on the roads.

If one thing is clear following the news that AJ injured his eye, it’s that children can be just as dangerous as the average career in the NFL. We hope AJ has a quick and complete recovery.