As he moves closer and closer to potentially clearing concussion protocol to play Saturday against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15, Pittsburgh Steelers star linebacker T.J. Watt finds his situation under review by the NFL and the NFLPA.
Watt left the Week 14 Thursday Night Football matchup against the New England Patriots following the first play from scrimmage after taking an errant Ezekiel Elliott knee to the facemask, causing him to be very clearly dazed and lying flat on his back for a few moments, leading to his exit from the game.
The Steelers’ star eventually returned to the game after reportedly spending some time with the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant, according to a report from Amazon sideline reporter Kaylee Hartung last Thursday. Later on in the game, Watt had a dark-tinted visor on his helmet due to light sensitivity, which is a common symptom of a concussion.
Now, his situation regarding potentially being checked for a concussion, returning to the game, and then reporting concussion-like symptoms the next day before landing in the protocol on Saturday has NBC Sports’ Mike Florio calling for the NFLPA, under new executive director Lloyd Howell, to be aggressive in the investigation and get to the bottom of what happened and start protecting players from themselves.
“Hopefully, in this process, the NFLPA will be aggressive. The NFLPA won’t just go along to get along to have the right relationship with the NFL,” Florio said regarding the situation surrounding Watt, according to video via the NFL on NBC YouTube page. “This is the first test of Lloyd Howell, the new NFLPA executive director, as to how he will be when it comes to protecting players, even when you are protecting players at times from themselves.”
After Watt took the big blow to the face from Elliott’s leg, he was seen on the sideline flexing his jaw, having his jaw and mouth checked out by medical personnel.
Hartung reported during the broadcast that Watt spent four minutes with the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant (UNC) before being cleared to go back into the game. Here’s the full quote of Hartung’s sideline report from early in the second quarter regarding Watt being evaluated for a concussion.
“Alex Highsmith is still in there. We are told he’s questionable to return because of a neck injury. The unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant is inside the tent with him right now, and it was earlier that we saw TJ Watt in there, also with the UNC for four minutes, but he’s been back in the game and his helmet now has a tinted visor attached to it.”
The return to the field, and then the subsequent change to a dark-tinted visor to remain in the game due to light sensitivity might do in the Steelers in the investigation. Light sensitivity is a clear symptom of a concussion, so Watt returning to the field with the new visor was rather concerning.
The very next day, Watt reported concussion-like symptoms and then, on Saturday, landed in the protocol, joining fellow outside linebacker Alex Highsmith.
For Florio, something stinks with the whole situation, especially as the NFL won’t give him any answers when he’s asked three times between Friday and Sunday.
“We’ve been following the story very carefully because to anyone who’s got basic common sense, something stinks here, and this is about protecting the players. This isn’t about giving someone a strategic edge or not, ‘oh, you wanted the Steelers to lose. You didn’t want TJ Watt to play.’ No, I want the NFL to mean it when it says it’s trying to protect players,” Florio said regarding the Watt situation. “And it feels too often that the process for evaluating a player who might have a concussion, it’s a checklist aimed at getting the player back on the field, not a process that begins with the basic notion that these individuals are patients.”
Florio, to his credit, has a point.
Concussions have been a major issue in the sport for a number of years. The NFL slowly came around to acknowledging that they were having long-term effects, which then led to the protocol and the removal of headshots. Concussions have seemingly been reduced in the NFL since the rules were changed, and players seem better off for the protocol and needing to clear the protocol to play after suffering a concussion.
But the in-game protocol seems like it’s a bit lax, which has Florio wanting to see the NFLPA and Howell be aggressive here in the investigation into Watt’s situation. The player’s association very well may be aggressive, but the NFL might take a different approach.
We’ll see what transpires with the investigation surrounding Watt’s concussion situation. He very well might play Saturday, well before the situation is resolved, too.
