The NFL announced last week that concussions had increased by 18 percent during the regular season, but Commissioner Roger Goodell said today that the increase could be a result of the NFL getting better at diagnosing concussions.
Goodell said the NFL has improved its approach to evaluating players when they show symptoms of concussions, and that’s part of the reason more concussions have been diagnosed.
“I think that’s a reason why concussions went up this year, because we had a broader definition,” Goodell said. “If you have more evaluations you’re going to have more concussions.”
After a season in which the NFL was roundly criticized for the handling of Tua Tagovailoa’s concussions, Goodell said the league is always trying to get better on that front.
“Any time we can change the protocols to make it safer for our players, we’re going to do that,” Goodell said.
Goodell said the NFL will continue to look at new rules to reduce the number of impacts to players’ heads.
“You want to take the head out of the game,” Goodell said. “You’re always going to have contacts that are not intended, so that’s why we have protections, but ultimately you want to have rules that are avoiding the techniques that lead to these kinds of injuries.”