Redskins tight end Chris Cooley wasn't immediately removed from the field after suffering what was eventually announced as a concussion in the second half of Sunday's 27-24 loss to Indianapolis.
Shockingly, fellow TE Fred Davis said following the game that Cooley actually played several series in spite of feeling woozy and experiencing impaired vision.
"I think he even caught a couple balls by the goal line, but I think you could tell a little bit that he wasn't feeling well," Davis said on Comcast's post-game show. "When he came to the sideline you could just tell he was a little bit drowsy, couldn't see out of his left eye a little bit for a second ...
"He looked fine after the game, but you never know with those concussions."
Actually, we do know. We know a lot, now, in 2010, about football and brain trauma. It's been one of the most talked about issues in the game, with alarming studies and new measures implemented to ensure players are given sufficient time to heal in order to reduce long-term effects.
And if Davis's time line is correct, it's absolutely staggering that the Redskins' medical staff didn't immediately pull Cooley from the game. Even coach Mike Shanahan said he could tell right away something was terribly wrong with his tight end.
"I knew just looking at him," Shanahan said. "You could tell that there was something wrong. I really don't know when it was. I just looked at him on the sideline and could tell that there was something wrong."
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SBNation suggests most of the blame lies with Cooley for not checking himself out of the game. But Cooley was concussed and obviously not operating with his full faculties. He may have tried to tough it out, but it's the job of the Redskins staff to ensure a player isn't doing just that -- and it's hard to imagine there isn't going to be more from this story in the coming days.
