Concerns lingering on Floyd’s pro future

UGA product sustained pair of concussions as rookie with Bears.

Former Georgia standout Leonard Floyd sustained two concussions during his rookie season and told the Chicago media during a recent minicamp it took him two months to recover from the second incident.

Ross Tucker and Booger McFarland, both former NFL players now working on SiriusXM NFL Radio, were alarmed by the revelation and made it an issue in a recent show.

“It’s going to affect you for the rest of your life,” said McFar- land, who played nine seasons in the NFL with Tampa Bay and Indianapolis. “If I were around him or if the people around him (are) listening, make sure he gets an opportunity to get his brain checked out.

“You do not want to go back out there and get another concussion. If he gets his third one, let’s say in less than a year, now you have to start having a conversation about should he play football ever again. That’s not if you want to. That’s probably he shouldn’t at all.”

Floyd’s first concussion occurred against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on Nov. 20, when his head slammed into defensive tackle Akiem Hicks

while attempting to make a tackle. Floyd left the field strapped to a board and was treated at a nearby New Jersey hospital.

Floyd’s second concussion came against the Redskins on Dec. 24, again while attempting a tackle.

“It took me two months to really feel like I was back to myself,” Floyd told the Chicago media on June 14. “I was just at the house relaxing and getting my mind back together. And after those two months, I felt back the same.”

After the season, Floyd, who is from Eastman, was ordered to take it easy.

“You just don’t feel normal,” Floyd said. “It’s the thinking part. You don’t think the same. I wasn’t thinking like I normally would think. And then I’d be staring off into space sometime instead of paying attention.”

The recovery period from the second concussion is a concern.

“The fact that it took two months is a little unusual, but we also know that there are a lot of variabilities from person to person,” said Dr. Vernon Williams, director of the Kerlan-Jobe Center for Sports Neurology and Pain Medicine in Los Angeles. “In other words, it may take one person longer than another. Then there is also a lot variability within an individual. You can have one concussion and recovery within five or six days and another take a lot longer time.”

After a solid career at Georgia, Floyd was selected ninth in the 2016 draft. He started 12 games for the Bears, had seven sacks and the Pro Football Writers Association’s AllRookie team.

“He’s 24 years old and I guess he’s talking to doctors and all,” said Tucker, who played six NFL seasons. “I guess here’s what would be my point: If I had anything going on where my brain wasn’t working right for two months, good bye, see you later. I almost wouldn’t care what the doctors would say.”

GETTY IMAGES Bears rookie defensive end Leonard Floyd is carted off the field Dec. 24 after suffering his second concussion of the season. Floyd said it took him two months to fully recover his faculties.

CHARLES ODUM / AP Building through the draft is a nice concept, but new Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk (left) has little margin for error with mid-level picks.