Steelers Get Backlash for How They Handled T.J. Watt’s Concussion

The Pittsburgh Steelers have T.J. Watt’s injury in Week 14.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have received a lot of criticism for losing eight straight games to sub-.500 opponents. But the Steelers now have linebacker T.J. Watt was injured in Week 14 against the New England Patriots.

On the first play, Watt was hit in the head by the Patriots’ running backs. Watt left the game and went into the blue tent to be evaluated.

But he’s back to his usual defensive self. 52 on defense (91% of team defensive snaps) and 4 on special teams. Two days after the Dec. 9 game, Pro Football Talk reported that Watt entered the NFL’s concussion protocol.

NFL fans took to Twitter during the game to question whether Watt should be allowed to return. Amazon Prime Video cameras showed the defensive star appearing on the sideline looking slightly dazed.

Amazon Prime’s Kayleigh Hartung reports that the Steelers added a shield to Watt’s helmet to help him get back into the game. With the 2021 quarterback entering the concussion protocol on Dec. 9, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk joined the group with concerns about whether Watt should return in Week 14.

Florio wrote on Dec. 10 that he tried three times to ask the NFL why it was unable to remove Watts from the Patriots game. There is no response from the league yet.

“There has been and will be no response,” Florio wrote. “And that’s good. However, this raises suspicions that the process was mismanaged from the start. “Watt should have been ruled out of the game the next morning as he was placed in the concussion protocol due to a concussion.”

Mike Florio asks about working with T.J. Watt recommends changes to injury and concussion protocols.
Florio raised two points about Watt’s Week 14 injury in a question form on Dec. 10.

Concussion symptoms may not appear until a day or two after contact with the player’s head. This may be the case with Watts. But Florio argued that the NFL knows that signs of a concussion can be delayed and that an impact to the head should be enough to remove a player for safety reasons. “In some cases, people say symptoms start the next day,” Florio wrote. “This gives us all the more reason to make decisions based on the force of head impacts and other non-concussive injuries. “Face, mouth. chin. Eyes. “At some point, mental health has to go beyond the checklist that doctors blindly use to keep players in the game.”

Following common sense instead of a checklist can be dangerous. There is still a lot of gray area in diagnosing concussions, so common sense is often not straightforward. But another important point for Florio is that Watt’s symptoms may not be delayed any longer.

One symptom of a concussion is sensitivity to light. The Steelers may have installed a visor on Watt’s helmet because of his sudden sensitivity to light. The NFL did not respond to Florio’s questions about why the Steelers added a visor to Watt’s helmet. Additionally, Florio’s teammate Peter King told him on Dec. 8 that the Steelers canceled a pre-scheduled postgame interview with Watt because King was suffering from migraines.

Headaches and migraines are also symptoms of a concussion. The Steelers are under fire on social media for Watt’s head injury.
It’s unclear if protocols were followed following Watt’s head injury in Week 14, as the NFL has not responded to Florio.

Fans of X (formerly Twitter) came up with their own theory. “He was hit twice in the head and was wearing a colored helmet. He had been given aromatic salts. And he was allowed to finish the game.” DocFlynn wrote in “It’s a missed opportunity to call symptoms symptoms Thursday instead of Friday.” “There is no guilt or shame. We just have to learn and do better.”

He was hit twice in the head. He applied tinted sunscreen. He was given flavored salts. And he was allowed to finish the game. A missed opportunity to call symptoms symptoms Thursday instead of Friday. There is no guilt or shame. We just have to learn and do better. Other X fans agreed, but called for more “guilt and shame.”

“The doctors knew it, the coaches knew it. The coaches knew it. The equipment knew this. The neurotrauma team knew this. The network said so so we could find out,” wrote Derek Silva. “But he’s back in the game. This could one day be a game-changing moment for the NFL. Especially if there is a lawsuit filed by TJ or the NFLPA in the future.

The doctors knew. The coaches knew it. The coaches knew it. The equipment knew this. The neurotrauma team knew this. I knew about it because the broadcaster mentioned it. But he’s back in the game. This could one day be a game-changing moment for the NFL. Especially if there is a lawsuit filed by TJ or the NFLPA in the future.

“Actually there should be more charges,” X For the Shoe’s account wrote. “Do you feel guilty or ashamed?” Count X bit Captain Grigson’s hair. “Obviously he has a concussion. The Steelers have given years to win games.”

Regardless of what happens during the game, Watt will now have to go through the concussion protocol to play in Week 15.