NFL puts safety entirely on players, again

Immediately after the hit occurred, Savage reflexively held his arms up shaking in front of his face. For even the casual observer, that would qualify as symptoms worthy of extensive examination. Yet after a cursory glance, Savage was back on the field leading the offense for another possession before being pulled from the game for good. All told, he missed seven snaps between sustaining the concussion and being put back in the game. Head coach Bill O’Brien later claimed neither he nor head trainer Geoff Kaplan had seen video of Savage shaking, and if they had, they would not have allowed the quarterback back into the game.

The NFL and NFLPA have announced a joint investigation into the handling of Savage after the hit and whether what it deems proper protocol was conducted by the Texans. But why should the public feel assured by that? Last season, following a similar brutal hit on Dolphins quarterback Matt Moore in the playoffs, he was removed from the game for only one play before re-entering. Public outcry was immense. The league and the union launched an investigation and found that Miami had indeed violated the concussion protocol. The result? No punishment. Just an admonishment that further noncompliance with the protocol could result in disciplinary action.

In 2015, then-Rams quarterback Case Keenum was left in a game against the Ravens after sustaining a concussion in the fourth quarter. Keenum was leveled and had trouble getting to his feet after stumbling on the ground. He was down for about 20 seconds yet remained in the game following scant examination. After the game, it was determined Keenum had suffered a concussion. Again, the NFL exacted no punishment against the team.

Barely more than a month ago, Russell Wilson was hit in the chin by Karlos Dansby during a Thursday night game. On the broadcast, Wilson was shown merely poking into the sideline injury tent before rejoining the offense, missing just one play. The NFL announced that it was reviewing whether procedure was followed. Now that the incident has faded from public attention, it's curious that the league has not issued any update on the review within the span of a month.

When it comes to safety, the NFL is content with passing the onus onto the players and asking nothing of the teams or the neurologists tasked with protecting them. In an interview published last week by Esquire, Richard Sherman was asked whether the league had made any strides in dealing with head injuries.

“No,” Sherman replied. “The league hasn’t done much outside of appeasing public opinion. Now, you get a hard hit, fine players a bunch of money, suspend guys. But it’s more punishing players than it is player safety, and putting more money into league charities, et cetera. It’s not really changing the game or making it more safe. Obviously there are still players going back into the game after head injuries and after huge collisions. Guys go unreported. But to appease public opinion, and to make the fans continue to watch the game and the product, they went out and made all these rules. Now we have a guy on the sideline. That’s not for safety, that’s for public opinion.”

Making football actually safe would require a fundamental changing of the game. Focusing on big hits ignores the fact that the everyday subconcussive contact of line play leads to CTE. The NFL wants football to remain as close to the status quo as possible. Increased penalties and ejections may frustrate fans, but at least the league can assuage them that such things are being carried out in the name of safety.

That whole fantasy falls apart when it comes time to keep injured players out of games.