Most people who watched the end of Sunday’s game between the St. Louis Rams and Baltimore Ravens could tell you that Case Keenum wasn’t quite right after taking a big hit late in the game. During St. Louis’ final drive with under a minute left in the fourth quarter, the Rams quarterback took a hit in the pocket and slammed the back of his head off the turf. Keenum was visibly shaken, immediately grabbing his head before struggling to get to his feet. He had all the clear, visible signs of a concussion.
And yet, nobody said anything, he never came off the field to be evaluated. Instead, he stayed in the game and had a costly fumble a few plays later.
It came as little surprise when it was revealed on Monday that Keenum did indeed suffer a concussion on the play, followed by the NFL scrambling to establish some damage control. ESPN’s Adam Schefter posted this update to his Facebook page:
NFL statement on Rams’ QB Case Keenum: “Promptly after the conclusion of yesterday’s game, we began a review to determine the facts of the injury to St. Louis quarterback Case Keenum and why he was not removed from the game for the necessary evaluation by a team physician or the unaffiliated neuro-trauma consultant as required by our concussion protocols. We are continuing that review today, which includes discussions with the Rams and their medical staff, the ATC spotter, the game officials, our medical advisers and the NFLPA. In the meantime, prior to this week’s games, we will reinforce with all involved the need to ensure that these injuries are properly identified and addressed in a manner consistent with our protocols.”
It’s pretty obscene and appalling that just about everyone watching at home could tell something was up after the play was over, but the people who are entrusted with handling the safety of these players stood idle and did nothing. There are certainly questions that need to be answered as to how that was allowed to happen.
