The Pittsburgh Steelers received a scare early in their game Thursday night against the Baltimore Ravens. Star wide receiver Antonio Brown took a vicious hit to the head and left the game to be tested for a concussion.
Perhaps to the surprise of some people, Brown was able to return in the second quarter after clearing all of the necessary concussion protocol. Per the team’s PR:
.@steelers WR Antonio Brown has cleared all concussion protocol testing and will return to the game.
— Burt Lauten (@SteelersPRBurt) September 12, 2014
Let’s say it’s not just fans or those watching the game on the couch who are surprised that Brown returned after such a violent hit:
Text from high-level exec with another team: "I can't believe they're letting Antonio Brown back in the game."
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) September 12, 2014
That point is well taken, but it’s not as if the Steelers don’t know the stakes with the league’s concussion protocol.
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They understand the emphasis on player safety and the inherent risk for Brown if they let him play when he shouldn’t, let alone the problems they might create for themselves in terms of public perception.
Teams now have doctors available to help with those assessments and decisions. With those resources in place, it looks like the Steelers are comfortable re-inserting Brown in their key divisional game on Thursday night.
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