The Detroit Lions had to rule out Amon-Ra St. Brown for the rest of their game against the Dallas Cowboys after taking a big hit to the head on a catch-and-run.
St. Brown caught a screen pass from quarterback Jared Goff, and after picking up some positive yardage, a Cowboys player hit him high around the head, and he was slow to get up.
With the league focusing heavily on concussion protocol, especially after the injury to Miami Dolphins’ quarterback Tua Tagovailoa a couple weeks ago, the referee was quick to get the Lions to take St. Brown off the field to enter concussion protocol.
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It also looked as if St. Brown stumbled a bit after coming off the turf.
It was also announced on NFL RedZone at the Lions’ unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant (UNC) was the one that made the call to rule St. Brown out the rest of the game after going through the protocol.
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his is St. Brown’s first documented concussion since breaking into the NFL.
The reason the UNC is so critical is that the NFL Players’ Association terminated the UNC involved in Tagovailoa’s concussion check against the Buffalo Bills one week prior to his injury. Tagovailoa was wobbling when he got up during the first half of that game, and it seemed that he wouldn’t be able to return.
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Instead, the Dolphins claimed that Tagovailoa was dealing with a back injury that was forcing him to walk that way, and he did return to the game. Tagovailoa would lead the Dolphins to a win, but there was still controversy surrounding the situation.
Now, players can be held out by anyone that sees "gross motor instability regardless of any possible contributing factors," which was an agreement made by the NFL and the NFLPA. It basically translates to a player being held out even if the concussion test has been passed.
The league has since been extremely cautious in these scenarios and St. Brown’s case is one of them.
