The NFL’s concussion protocol has been under scrutiny the past week in regard to the Dolphins’ handling of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa‘s injuries after jarring hits against the Bills and Bengals. That scrutiny continued Sunday night, when Hall of Fame coach and NBC analyst Tony Dungy weighed on something he saw in the Buccaneers-Chiefs game.
Tampa Bay tight end Cameron Brate appeared dazed after a collision with teammate Chris Godwin late in the first half. After re-entering the game, Brate ultimately was ruled out with a concussion. Dungy, who was on the Buccaneers sideline during the game, later explained on Twitter that he witnessed a “broken system.”
“I was on the sideline very close to Brate—obvious he had his bell rung,” Dungy wrote. “There’s a league appointed spotter in the press box who should stop play & alert the referee. Brate shouldn’t have been allowed to return until after an evaluation. Why didn’t that happen???”
In between the time Brate came back into the game and when he was ruled out, the tight end was thrown to once and also was penalized for too many men on the field. Tampa Bay didn’t provide an update on Brate’s status after the game.
The NFL is expected to make changes to its protocol that would keep a player out of a game if he demonstrates “instability” regardless of how he performs in a concussion evaluation. That new policy is expected to begin in Week 5. The NFLPA’s investigation into Tagovailoa’s initial hit last Sunday is still ongoing.
