A rumble of curiosity has surfaced around the handling of T.J. Watt from last Thursday's game against the Patriots.
Watt took a blow to the face on the first play of the game and was evaluated in the medical tent on the sideline before later checking back into the game. Nothing official came down Thursday as far as an injury to Watt, and he was able to play 52 of the team's 57 defensive snaps against the Patriots.
But, Friday morning, it had been revealed Watt entered the league's concussion protocol after reporting to the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex with symptoms. It's something the NFL is actively looking into, though Watt cleared the protocol Wednesday and is able to play Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at Indianapolis.
"Got hit, went in the tent and got cleared, then came in the next day and had stuff going on," Watt said after Thursday's practice. "As you guys saw I went in the protocol. Yesterday I got cleared from the protocol, today I feel great."
I followed up to ask Watt if he was checked, specifically, for a concussion, inside of the tent on the sideline. He confirmed he was checked for a concussion. He later added that he thought they went through "all the steps possible and I felt like we did everything the right way."
On Wednesday, NFL medical director Dr. Allen Sills addressed the situation at this week's leaguewide ownership meeting by noting the process is being actively looked into. He said a timetable for a decision of their review is "hard to say":
“I think we put a statement out that said we and the union together are looking into that, which we do in every case,” Sills said Wednesday. “Any time a player is diagnosed after game day with a concussion we go back and very carefully review all the facts that go into that and make sure the concussion protocol is properly applied and also make sure we understand the medical decision-making. So we’re actively doing that in this case.
“I would also say I maintain an extremely high degree of confidence in the men and women that help us administer our concussion protocol. We’re not perfect, but I think we have set a high bar and standard for ourselves. And I would also just say that all of the medical information about players is not available to everyone on game day. And so, there are factors that go into the medical decision-making that everyone is not aware of. That’s why we go back and review it very carefully. We’re looking into that and as we complete that review we’ll certainly have more to say.”
Watt was shown on the Amazon Prime broadcast taking smelling salts on the sideline after being checked in the tent, and he came back into the game while wearing a tinted visor that he did not have attached his helmet at the start of the game.
"I'm not really going to get into specifics," Watt said. "I've worn a visor pregame, I've worn a visor in practice. It's not something that's new for me, so I'll leave it at that."
And he wouldn't go into the specifics of taking smelling salts, either.
"We can break down every little thing I do," Watt said. "I think it's funny how things get caught on camera when you could do some things other times that are not on camera. I'm not going to get into all the specifics. I'm focused on this week and the Colts."
Alex Highsmith cleared the concussion protocol Thursday and is expected to play after leaving last Thursday's game with what was described as a neck injury at the time. He entered the concussion protocol Friday and logged a full practice session Thursday.
Watt is cleared to play and will play Saturday, but more snaps could be coming along the edge for Nick Herbig and Markus Golden if Highsmith doesn't play or is limited in his workload.
"I mean, it's tough to replace a guy like that. It would be very tough," Watt said. "I hope he can make it, but obviously if he can't we have M.G. and Herbig to fill in for him. I feel very comfortable with those guys, but at the same time Alex is a special player because of who he is."
