The NFL Players Association wants changes made to the league’s concussion protocols, and they want them implemented by this weekend.
“Our union has agreed to change the concussion protocols to protect players from returning to play in the case of any similar incident to what we saw on September 25,” the NFLPA Board and Executive Committee said in a statement Friday. “We would like these changes to go into effect before this weekend’s games to immediately protect the players and hope the NFL accepts the change before then as well.”
The comments come amid the controversy surrounding the league’s current concussion protocol, particularly for multiple incidents over the past couple of weeks, specifically the incident involving Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
Currently, there are several players going through the league’s concussion protocol.
The NFL has yet to respond to the statement from the NFLPA but it’s possible changes could be implemented as soon as Sunday’s games.
According to multiple reports, it is expected that the new protocol would eliminate any exceptions when it comes to a player exhibiting “gross motor stability.” Such impairment, or whatever reason, would mean the player would not be allowed to continue in the game.
Two weeks ago, Tagovailoa struggled to stay on his feet after suffering a hit in a game against the Bills. He was allowed to return to the game, however.
Four days later, he suffered another scary blow to the head in a game against the Bengals and was stretchered off the field. He has remained out since and did not travel with the team for Miami’s game against the Jets this weekend.
