On Sunday, Bengals receiver Tee Higgins returned to action after suffering a concussion in Week 12 against the Patriots. On Monday afternoon, after having his helmet strike the playing surface on multiple occasions during a Week 14 game against the Bills, the Bengals placed Higgins in the concussion protocol.
Early Monday evening, the NFL and the NFL Players Association issued a joint statement.
“Tee Higgins was evaluated twice in game and cleared to return,” the league and the union said. “After the game, in discussion with club medical personnel as part of a postgame evaluation, he notified the team he was experiencing symptoms and was immediately placed in the concussion protocol.”
It’s standard practice for players who are checked for concussions during games to be checked again after the game ends. And, yes, concussions sometimes don’t emerge immediately.
Still, the optics weren’t ideal. Higgins, who suffered the concussion when his helmet struck the artificial surface in Cincinnati, had it happen more than once on Sunday on the artificial turf in Buffalo. It became objectively uncomfortable to see it happen — and to see Higgins stay in the game
After the game, Higgins told reporters he had no concerns about continuing to play. The protocol is nevertheless in place to protect players from their natural inclination to keep playing.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, there will be no investigation regarding the handling of Higgins, because there is no reason to believe the protocol may have been violated. This situation nevertheless creates a potential opportunity for tweaking the protocol when it comes to players returning from concussions.
