Pittsburgh Steelers running back Isaac Redman told Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recently that he was allowed to re-enter the week two game against the Cincinnati Bengals despite having suffered a concussion during the opening kickoff. The team, however, released a statement Thursday in which they claim the running back was cleared to return after being properly evaluated.
“I had a concussion,” Redman said, per Bouchette’s report. “I was pretty much out of it the rest of the game. I just tried to go back in.”
Redman insinuated that he fooled the Steelers team trainers by telling them he was “all right”, but the team insists he was only allowed to return after passing the league-mandated concussion test.
“Isaac was taken out of the game, and we announced that he was being evaluated for a concussion,” the team said in a statement released to Pro Football Talk. “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.”
It will be interesting to see what happens with this situation moving forward and the Steelers are probably not too happy with Redman’s claim that they weren’t looking out for his best interests.
Redman was demoted to the bottom of the Steelers depth chart on Tuesday and as a result, there’s a good chance he will be inactive for the Sunday game in London against the Minnesota Vikings. You know he will not be happy about that if indeed that winds up being the case.
With the game still a few days away, Redman will likely be asked to respond to the team’s statement prior to kickoff. In addition to questions from the media, the league and the NFLPA might have a few questions for him as well.
