As far as the NFL Players Association is concerned, changes to the league's concussion protocols cannot come soon enough.
The union released a statement Friday confirming it had come to an agreement with the NFL on a change to prevent players from returning to a game if they show gross motor instability, which infamously happened with Tua Tagovailoa in Week 3.
The NFLPA called on the league to put the change into effect in time for this weekend's games:
"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. 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 NFL quickly responded, releasing statement confirming they had agreed to the changes, but declining to address the union's demand for instant change:
"As we have discussed with the NFLPA, we agree that changes to the joint NFL-NFLPA protocols are necessary to further enhance player safety. We have already spoken to members of the NFL Head, Neck and Spine Committee and the leadership of the Unaffiliated Neurotrauma Consultants and Independent Certified Athletic Trainers who serve as spotters to discuss these likely changes."
The Dolphins' handling of Tagovailoa has come under high scrutiny since he returned in Game 3, with the NFLPA announcing it would investigate the process the same night. Raised eyebrows turned into expressions of horror in the Dolphins' next game when Tagovailoa sustained a serious concussion from his head slamming into the ground, prompting a full re-examination of how the NFL handles head injuries.
NFL teams have by and large been more careful with players who have sustained apparent head injuries, most recently with Indianapolis Colts running back Nyheim Hines, who did not return to "Thursday Night Football" after displaying clear gross motor instability.
The concussion policy change will codify that increased caution. Hopefully, teams have learned their lesson in the aftermath of Tagovailoa's injury, but the union clearly doesn't want to take any chances.
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