The NFL is conducting a thorough review of the concussion test Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson underwent during Thursday night's game against the Arizona Cardinals, a league spokesman told NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport on Friday.
On Sunday, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told Rapoport that the league is still reviewing the matter. "Interviews by NFL and NFL Players Association officials have not been conducted yet. No conclusions have been reached," McCarthy said.
Wilson briefly left during the Seahawks' win after taking a hit to the chin early in the third quarter. The quarterback was ushered off the field by referee Walt Anderson after the hit. Wilson went into the medical tent on the sideline but sat out just one play before returning. TV cameras showed Wilson was only in the tent for seconds before returning the game.
Wilson was asked about the sequence after the game.
"Well I got smacked in the jaw pretty good there," Wilson said. "I wasn't concussed or anything like that. I felt completely clear. I was just trying to feel my jaw, I was like 'aw man, it's stuck.' I think I was laying on the ground for a second just trying to feel my jaw and I think Walt [Anderson, the referee] thought maybe I was a little injured or something like that. I told him I was good, I was good and he said you got to come off.
"I think Walt did a great job, first of all," Wilson said. "He made the smartest decision. I was fine though. A hundred percent fine. And then I finally went over through the whole concussion stuff. We went through every question you can imagine. I answered even some more for them just so they knew I was good and then went back in there."
According to the joint policy developed by the NFL and NFL Players Association, if the concussion protocol is found to not be properly followed, the team is subject to fines and a potential loss of draft picks.
The NFL has made 47 rule changes since 2002 to protect players, improve practice methods, better educate players and personnel on concussions and strengthen the league's medical protocols. The NFL deploys 29 medical professionals on the sidelines for each game. Working with the NFL Players Association, the league enforces a concussion protocol for players that has been instrumental in immediately identifying and diagnosing concussions and other head-related injuries.
