For all of the NFL’s insistence that it takes head injuries seriously, and for all of the new measures intended to ensure that players who might have a concussion will be pulled from games and checked thoroughly, there are still moments that show just how inconsistent any such policing can be.
One example came Sunday, when the back of St. Louis Rams quarterback Case Keenum’s helmet slammed to the ground with a little more than a minute left in the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens. Keenum’s hands immediately went toward his head, and he had a tough time trying to get up.
He appeared staggered, yet stayed in the game, obvious as it might have seemed in real time that something was wrong.
On the next play, Keenum threw an incompletion. And on the play after that, he fumbled the ball. The Ravens recovered and were therefore able to kick a tiebreaking field goal for a 16-13 victory.
Afterward, Keenum was not made available to reporters. Why? He was being examined for – wait for it – a concussion.