If 49er quarterback Brock Purdy suffered a second concussion on Sunday, six days after suffering his first, the N.F.L. There would be a mess on her hands. But you won’t get a concussion if you aren’t checked for it.
Purdy hit his head on the ground in Sunday’s loss to the Bengals. For some reason, Purdy was not examined for a concussion.
On Monday, Shanahan admitted there was “fear” for Purdy, “but just talking to him after the game and talking to him today, he was absolutely fine.”
Shanahan said he didn’t notice the hit when it happened because he had other things to do. For whatever reason, the people assigned to notice such incidents did not do so.
“I don’t get the TV version of the game, so I don’t see how they hit from where I’m at, so we don’t see that at all,” Shanahan said. “But I always assume that there are people who spot those things and check them out, and that everyone will do that when they see it. So that’s not something I look for during a game. I’m usually watching the defense and looking at my call-up sheet for the next game.”
After Shanahan saw the hit, he suggested that Purdy be checked for a concussion, right?
“I didn’t ask,” Shanahan said. “The fact that there is nothing wrong is why I didn’t ask. I also understand your question and I didn’t ask.
Shanahan was pressed on whether he would have removed Purdy from the game to be examined for a concussion, if Shanahan had seen the hit.
“I don’t know,” Shanahan said. “It’s a bit of a hypothetical question. If I think any of our players are injured, I always want to take them out of the game.
It’s hard to criticize Shanahan for not being more outspoken than he was, because he was. Despite his reluctance to admit that he would have taken Purdy out of the game had Shanahan seen the hit, his comments highlight the fact that someone with their hand on the proverbial red button failed to press it when Purdy clearly needed to. To be examined.
And yes, it’s very possible that none of the various people with the authority to get on the field to evaluate a concussion would want to be the one to start a process that could end with Purdy being diagnosed with a second concussion and the league having a huge mess because he was allowed to play just six days after he suffered his first. .
Which speaks to a deeper problem with the entire concussion protocol in the NFL.
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