Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly was in the concussion protocol on Thursday night, but he apparently does not have a concussion.
ESPN reports that Kuechly has “passed his concussion test,” and that he did not suffer what would have been his third concussion in three years.
This meshes with the Friday declaration from defensive coordinator Steve Wilks that Kuechly is “perfectly fine.” But it conflicts with the perception created when a player is placed in the “concussion protocol.”
In 2009, the NFL had its Congressionally-forced epiphany regarding head injuries and in turn became vigilant about the evaluation of players with concussions and the procedures for allowing them to return to practice and play. At some point, the question of whether a player has a concussion evolved into a general declaration that he’s in the concussion protocol, a more vague and amorphous assessment that -- as Kuechly’s case shows -- may or may not mean he has a concussion.
Typically, a player in the concussion protocol indeed has suffered a concussion, with “protocol” referring to the steps that apply when determining whether and when he’ll be able to play again. The idea that Kuechly was placed in the concussion protocol and so quickly removed from it suggests that, for Thursday night, the doctors opted for caution and that he had no concussion symptoms.
Which raises a fair question as to whether he was kept from playing when he should have been allowed to play. Which would have significantly enhanced Carolina’s chances of winning the game.
Beyond whether Kuechly should have been back in the game, the situation does little to make the concussion protocol seem any less confusing to those who are trying to understand whether the league is being appropriately cautious and careful with players who have suffered or may have suffered concussions. The concussion protocol shouldn’t be something that is so easily entered and exited, especially for a player who has had two actual concussions in the past two years.
In this specific case, it seems that Kuechly’s history resulted in doctors shutting him down for a game that, based on the fact that he didn’t actually have a concussion, he should have been able to finish.
UPDATE 8:40 a.m. ET: Panthers spokesman Steve Drummon says that Kuechly has not cleared the concussion protocol, and that his status has not changed.
