NFL: Concussion testers feel heat after injured QBs barely miss a snap
For the second time in four days, NFL concussion protocol is under fire, with the treatment of several players raising questions about whether the proper steps were followed.
The Seattle Seahawks are being scrutinized by the league for the way in which quarterback Russell Wilson was allowed to miss only a short period of time last Thursday.
Wilson maintains that he “felt completely clear” after Karlos Dansby’s helmet clipped him on the chin.
Still, the team could face a fine because the concussion policy requires that a player believed to have symptoms not return to “practice or play” until cleared by a team physician and an independent neurological consultant. Wilson was off the field for only the briefest of moments.
On Sunday, Jacoby Brissett of the Indianapolis Colts was allowed to return to the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers after a hit that looked fairly benign left him lying on the ground for a moment, then holding the back of his helmet before being helped off by teammates.
The Colts said Brissett passed evaluations by the team doctor and then the independent neurological consultant. He eventually emerged from the blue tent used for sideline evaluations and hurried back onto the field before the start of the next possession. The Colts later said he developed concussion symptoms after the game.
His treatment angered Dr. Chris Nowinski, a co-founder of the Concussion Legacy Foundation and Boston University’s chronic traumatic encephalopathy program. He tweeted that the “protocol is a fraud” and that Brissett showed “the clearest concussions (sic) signs of the season. You don’t need a protocol to hold this player out.”
Washington announced wide re- ceiver Ryan Grant was evaluated for a concussion after a hard hit by Minnesota’s Linval Joseph. The team said that Grant had been cleared to return, then said that further testing was being done and he was ruled out for the rest of the game. Coach Jay Gruden confirmed Grant was in the concussion protocol.
Part of the NFL’s drive to decrease head injuries from repetitive hits to the head concerns player awareness. Over the past couple of years, there have been signs that players are taking themselves out of games.