NFLPA applying pressure on NFL to speed up concussion protocol changes

The NFL is in the hot seat regarding their concussion protocol, and the NFLPA is applying pressure for them to speed up the changes.

UPDATE (SATURDAY, 4:55 PM ET): have adopted the changes in advance of Sunday’s gamesThe NFL and NFLPA .

The NFL is under a lot of scrutiny regarding their current concussion protocol, and the NFL Players Association is applying pressure for them to speed up its changes.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network Tweeted a statement from the NFLPA that asked the NFL to “adopt changes to the concussion protocol prior to the weekend.”

The statement read:

"“Our union has agreed to change the concussion protocols to protect players from returning to play in the case of any similar incident we saw on September 25. We would like these changes to go into effect before this weekend’s games to immediately protect the players and hope the NFL accepts the change before then as well.”"

The Sept. 25 incident is in reference to Miami Dolphins star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa getting tackled, appearing dazed and stumbling as he exited the game and then re-entering the game later on. Less than a week later, he was sacked and lost consciousness, had scary convulsions and had to be taken off the field on a stretcher.

It’s clear why the NFLPA is trying to put changes into effect immediately after working with the league to agree on necessary changes.

The NFLPA is doing the right thing by pressuring the NFL for immediate change

It’s not guaranteed that Tagovailoa’s reaction in Week 4 would’ve been prevented if he had stayed out of the rest of the Week 3 game, but it certainly would’ve been a good step forward.

Tagovailoa shouldn’t have been allowed to play. He didn’t have enough time to properly undergo enough testing between the time of the impact and the end of the game, and pushing through likely just made things worse.

Had he undergone enough testing and been deemed in full health, he would’ve been fine to play in the Week 4 game and he may or may not have had the second incident occur. However, if he wasn’t okay to begin with and would’ve ended up sitting out, the protocol failed in keeping him safe.

Concussions can cause severe life-altering damage, and they shouldn’t be taken lightly.