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Houston Texans quarterback Tom Savage took a vicious hit during a 16-26 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, then appeared to freeze in position on the ground as his arms and hands shook. Yet within minutes, he returned to play.
The troubling scene was captured on camera (see above).
After the hit, Savage rested on the ground with his eyes closed and his bent arms twitching in what appeared to be a seizure. When team managers decided he had suffered a concussion, Savage was yanked from the game.
Players are supposed to go through a protocol after serious tackles to determine if they have suffered a concussion. Players with the condition are immediately removed from play because a second hit could trigger an even more devastating brain injury.
ESPN reported that a “neurotrauma consultant” evaluated Savage in a medical tent following the hard tackle by 49ers defensive end Elvis Dumervil. But Savage returned to the field just three minutes later.
After throwing two incomplete passes, T.J. Yates replaced Savage. At that point, Savage was re-evaluated and not allowed to return to play.
Tom Savage stays in game, misses on two passes to force Texans punt. He was evaluated before he returned after that hit. https://t.co/zVnDTjguKs
— Cam Inman (@CamInman) December 10, 2017
When Savage tried to return to the field, he was restrained by a team official. The team later tweeted that Savage was officially staying out with a concussion.
Injury Update: QB Tom Savage is out with a concussion
— Texans PR (@TexansPR) December 10, 2017
Head coach Bill O’Brien said that medical evaluators “made the determination to put him back in the game. He went back in the game and came out and they evaluated him a little bit more just because of what they saw.”
ESPN later reported that the NFL’s concussion protocol obviously had “major issues.” The protocol “cannot possibly be considered adequate if it allowed” Savage back into the game, reporter Kevin Seifert wrote.
The troubling scene occurred amid mounting evidence of devastating brain damage from tackles in NFL games. MRIs have shown that football players suffering chronic traumatic encephalopathy from repeated concussions and other batterings can face the same kind of brain deterioration that boxers experience. Such brain damage significantly impacts intelligence and behavior and has been linked to depression, memory loss, dementia, suicide and other early death.
Fans were furious that the team and referee on the scene allowed Savage back into the game after the hit:
The ref watched it, did nothing. The coach saw it, put him back in after a lousy five minutes. It was his teammates who stopped him from going on field. Someone needs to lose their damn job over this.
— Rose McDonald (@riledirish) December 10, 2017
Y’all are absolutely disgusting. The guy was SEIZING on the field and you put him back in the game. Someone (multiple people) need to lose their jobs ASAP. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING is above player HEALTH AND SAFETY
— Snack Pack (@OGFoodWhisperer) December 11, 2017
Disgusted that the @HoustonTexans allowed Tom Savage to return to the game after 2 plays after showing these horrifying #concussion signs (is that a seizure?) after a head impact. I would not let my worst enemy go through the 2017 #NFL sideline concussion protocol... https://t.co/PeJr5ISAIJ
— Chris Nowinski, Ph.D. (@ChrisNowinski1) December 10, 2017
Five Houston players have been pulled from games in the past two weeks due to concussions.
T Kendall Lamm has been ruled out for the game with a concussion. The fifth Texans player to leave a game with a concussion in two weeks.
— Sarah Barshop (@sarahbarshop) December 10, 2017
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