NFL opens investigation into Steelers' handling of T.J. Watt's injury
Despite some of the head-scratching moves the NFL makes in terms of scheduling, the league has taken real strides in terms of player safety. The area that has seen the most progress would be head and neck injuries, with penalties, equipment and parameters all put in place to protect the player. But following an odd […]
Despite some of the head-scratching moves the NFL makes in terms of scheduling, the league has taken real strides in terms of player safety.
The area that has seen the most progress would be head and neck injuries, with penalties, equipment and parameters all put in place to protect the player.
But following an odd situation on Thursday night, the Steelers are being investigated as it relates to the latter:
Mishandling of Watt?
This play generated a lot of controversy after T.J. Watt missed a couple plays before returning to the game against the Patriots on Thursday. Upon his return, Watt was seen wearing a dark-colored visor that has been hypothesized as protection against the lights, a tell-tail sign of a concussion.
Watt would be in placed into concussion protocol not even 24 hours later, sparking conversation about Pittsburgh's handling of the matter.
I floated the idea that this may become a problem for Pittsburgh, with whether or not Watt would play being the least of their worries, and it seems as if that just came to fruition:
The fact that the league and the NFL's player association are both taking a look into the situation tells you that they view the situation as fishy. Typically in situations like these, where there's smoke, there's fire, even if Watt has already been cleared for action against Indianapolis:
So we'll see what comes of the investigation. Hopefully Pittsburgh didn't sacrifice Watt for short-term gain, violating protocol but more importantly, putting Watt in a disadvantageous position healthwise.
Either way, it's just the latest in a long line of off-the-field issues that Pittsburgh has been facing lately.
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