Mike Tomlin ‘believes’ T. J. Watt has suffered a concussion after taking a knee in Week 14.
Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin said Friday that the team’s top EDGE rusher, T. J. Watt, has been placed in concussion protocol after the team’s Week 14 loss to New England Patriots. It is believed that Watt sustained the concussion on the team’s first defensive play, when he was hit on a tackle from the Patriots’ running back, Ezekiel Elliott. Tomlin said that he had been checked for a concussion after the play, but “I’m managing the game, so I’ll leave that up to the medical experts.”
“Basically, they tell me if a player is out, if they’re subject to return or if they’re back,” Tomlin said. “I got a report that said he was out, and then a report that he’s back. That’s all I know.”
When Watt returned (it’s unclear if he was officially diagnosed with a concussion), he was wearing a dark visor that he hadn’t worn in a while. At first, some thought something was wrong, as sensitivity to light can be a sign of concussions.
When asked about why he might have worn a dark visor, Tomlin said “I didn’t know that, so I can’t comment on that. I didn’t even know that he changed his visor. He usually wears the same visor. You said the tint was different, but I didn’t know that that was it.”Watt missed a scheduled interview with NFL columnist Peter King after the game, citing a migraine.
The NFL will likely look into whether there was a breach in the concussion protocol in light of the circumstances.
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