According to Scott Brown of ESPN.com, the league will not investigate the Pittsburgh Steelers following the claim made by running back Isaac Redman that he lied to team doctors so that he could get back into the week two game against the Cincinnati Bengals after being checked for a concussion.
Redman, who suffered a blow to his head on the opening kickoff of the game, told Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he lied to doctors by telling them he was fine so he could get back into the game. The Steelers refuted Redman’s claim on Thursday in a statement to Pro Football Talk.
“Isaac was taken out of the game, and we announced that he was being evaluated for a concussion,” the team said in the statement. “He was then taken through the proper protocol by our medical staff and it was deemed he was cleared to return to action after multiple examinations. He then re-entered the game and saw action shortly thereafter and throughout the rest of the game.”
Back in July, it was reported that the Steelers agreed to be one of eight NFL teams that would take part in a pilot program during the 2013 season that included putting a player’s entire medical record at a doctor’s fingertips on the sideline. Those records, which were to be stored on an iPad, were to include everything from X-rays to baseline concussion tests. The iPads, which were reportedly tested during the 2012 season, were also to be loaded with X2 software that includes the Sideline Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT-3).
Redman has yet to be asked more about the incident, but at some point you know that he will. As of Tuesday, the former undrafted free agent was listed at the bottom of the Steelers running back depth chart and it will be interesting to see whether or not he is inactive Sunday for the game against the Minnesota Vikings now that rookie running back Le’Veon Bell is healthy.
