49ers’ safety Eric Reid may play against Colts

Promising San Francisco 49ers’ rookie safety Eric Reid may be ready to play when his team takes on the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday.

Just four days after sustaining a scary looking concussion in the 49ers’ loss at division rival Seattle, csnbayarea.com’s Matt Maiocco is reporting that Reid remains symptom-free and on pace to play this week.

“I went to the doctor yesterday and they said all my post-concussion tests were good – passed all my baseline tests, so I think I have to go back and get released for Sunday, but I should be fine,” Reid said

Reid has been limited to non-contact drills in practice, but will have to participate in a contact simulation in order to satisfy the NFL’s concussion protocol and be eligible for play on Sunday, according to the report.

If Reid is unable to go, first year 49ers’ player and former St. Louis Rams safety Craig Dahl would likely get most of the reps at free safety.

In a telling quote from Matt Maiocco’s interview with Eric Reid, he recounts the play against the Seahawks.

“I didn’t for a little bit, but it came back to me after they took me to the locker room. That’s why they said they diagnosed me with a concussion. I actually didn’t have a headache at all. I felt perfectly normal and wanted to go back and play, but they hid my helmet somewhere.”

While its good news the concussion isn’t as bad as it appeared at first, one has to hope the 49ers and NFL are doing the right thing in possibly allowing the youngster to play.  The NFL has had well publicized issues with concussions in recent years and months. But more important is the seriousness of the long-term effects these injuries have – let’s hope Reid is truly OK and ready to go and not risking any of that.