Detroit Lions Tackle Says Team Didn’t Know He Played Concussed

By Cory Buck | Oct 25, 2014

Aug 2, 2013; Allen Park, MI, USA; Detroit Lions defensive tackle LaAdrian Waddle (66) during training camp at Detroit Lions training facility. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports /

Detroit Lions tackle LaAdrian Waddle says the team didn’t know he had a concussion, so he doesn’t blame them for letting him back on the field.

LaAdrian Waddle suffered a concussion on the field in the Week 7 game at Ford Field between the Detroit Lions and the New Orleans Saints. He then escaped league protocol and returned to the field for the final kneel down. While this is hardly what the league or the fans want, what’s done is done and Waddle refuses to blame the Lions because, as he puts it, ‘they didn’t know’.

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“I mean, I didn’t talk to anybody until after the game, so what else are they supposed to do?” Waddle told the Detroit Free Press. “They didn’t know anything till after the game.”

Waddle suffered a concussion on the team’s PAT that put the Lions up 24-23 late in the fourth quarter. A medical observer initiated the process with the team to take Waddle aside for testing, but the Saints stalled on their final attempt to win the game and Waddle returned to the field for the final play of the game. Fortunately, that play did no further damage to Waddle.

“I mean, I was a little woozy (when it first happened) but I didn’t really know what was happening,” Waddle said. “I didn’t realize I had a concussion. I thought I was just maybe shook up a little bit. I thought I was good.”

This comes on the heels of San Diego Chargers safety Jahleel Addae suffering what appeared to be a concussion on Thursday Night Football against the Denver Broncos. Addae later returned and was noticeably woozy after another big hit.

One suspects Addae and Waddle are just the tip of the iceberg on this matter. Why did the medical observer have to discuss things with the team before examining someone? Shouldn’t the medical people have the ultimate say over who plays and who doesn’t? Once a doctor suspects something, he or she should have carte blanche to examine the player, regardless of what he or the team says.

If a player in any sport is concussed, he or she is done for the day and probably the week to start. Until that becomes the hard and fast rule, expect incidents and stories like these to continually crop up in the NFL news cycle.

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