The St. Louis Rams are under investigation after putting their quarterback, Case Keenum, in harm’s way late in Sunday’s game against the Ravens. During the Rams’ final drive, Keenum was sacked by Ravens defensive end Timmy Jernigan and he hit his head hard on the turf. It was apparent that he had suffered a concussion as he held his head in pain and had trouble getting up afterwards, and it was confirmed after the game that he did indeed suffer a concussion. However, despite his head injury, Keenum stayed in for the rest of the game, leaving many people wondering why the Rams allowed their quarterback to continue playing.
The NFL announced on Monday that it has decided to launch an investigation into why Keenum played after suffering a concussion. “Promptly after the conclusion of yesterday’s game, we began a review to determine the facts of the injury to St. Louis quarterback Case Keenum and why he was not removed from the game for the necessary evaluation by a team physician or the unaffiliated neuro-trauma consultant as required by our concussion protocols,” the league said in a statement. “We are continuing that review today, which includes discussions with the Rams and their medical staff, the ATC spotter, the game officials, our medical advisors and the NFLPA.” The NFLPA (NFL Players’ Association) will perform an investigation of their own as well.
Right after the hit, one of the athletic trainers went on the field to talk to Keenum, who insisted that he was okay. The athletic trainers in the press box never called for a medical timeout, as they are allowed to do if they see a player sustain a concussion, and the medical staff was never called to do a proper evaluation of his injury. Instead, Keenum quickly went back out on the field and finished out the game with an incompletion and a fumble. It wasn’t until after the game that he was officially diagnosed with a concussion.
“I didn’t see him struggle to get up,” Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said of Keenum’s injury. “I didn’t see anything from my vantage point on the sideline of Case’s slow recovery. The shots you’ve seen of him struggling to get up, I didn’t see that.” The Rams maintain that a medical timeout was never called because they saw the trainer on the field checking on Keenum. However, some aren’t so quick to buy that excuse and think that Keenum was allowed to keep playing simply because the Rams didn’t want to risk losing the game.
Whether it was an oversight by the team or worse, a desperate attempt to not lose the game by taking their starting quarterback out, the NFL is determined to get to the bottom of it and will enforce disciplinary action if necessary.
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