While no one will argue the value of the NFL having a concussion protocol in place, inconsistencies in applying the existing policies have kept the league perpetually on the defensive.
Rather than wait until the 2018 season to attempt to continue tweaking the protocol, the league decided to implement multiple changes ahead of Week 15, ESPN reported Sunday.
Among the key changes implemented before last week's games were the addition of an unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant (UNC) to the league's command center during games and new rules specifying how players must be treated based on particular injuries.
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Players who show signs of "impact seizure," as Texans quarterback Tom Savage did after a hit in Week 14, will now be ruled out for the rest of the game. Players who show "gross motor instability or significant loss of balance" must now be evaluated in the locker room rather than on the sideline as long as those reactions don't appear to be the result of foot or leg issues.
In addition, referees who remove a player from the game due to suspected head trauma must notify team medical officials and any player evaluated for a concussion must be checked again within 24 hours, regardless of whether the team is scheduled to be off that day.
"We are constantly looking at the protocol and how it's applied and trying to get better," the NFL's chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, told ESPN. "The process happens through the season."
Savage's injury and the Seahawks' handling of Russell Wilson's concussion during Week 10 (which resulted in a $100,000 fine) were among the incidents that prompted the league to move now instead of waiting until next season.
