NFL

Brady Quinn Played Through A Concussion Last Sunday And It Sounded Horrifying

To Brady Quinn’s credit, there isn’t much he can do to revive his career at this point. But after sustaining concussion-like symptoms on a scramble against the Raiders last week, perhaps staying in for a few more plays to capitalize on his limited playing time wasn’t the solution.

In fact, Brady could not take advantage of his extra opportunities. Please read this incredibly sad and disheartening retelling of Quinn’s post-concussion sequence:

“At that point, I kind of noticed a loss of vision,” Quinn said. “I started to get tunnel vision. I just tried to keep playing, thinking it would go away. It didn’t.”

On the next play, Quinn was slammed to the ground by Oakland’s Lamarr Houston after throwing a pass to Jamaal Charles. Quinn’s head hit the turf after he hit the ground.

The Chiefs then punted, and when Quinn came back on the field for their next possession, he grabbed the wrong helmet. He returned to the sideline to grab the proper helmet.

He was sacked on the first play of that drive by Oakland’s Rolando McClain, who came from Quinn’s front side and should have been in Quinn’s field of vision. But he wasn’t.

“On the sack, I couldn’t even see (McClain) coming off the edge,” Quinn said. “I tried to play through it, thinking it was going to go away. That was my fault for not being smarter.

“It actually got worse after that hit.”

We like to celebrate athletes who play through injury in crunch time and wind up doing heroic things, but remember, it’s not all good. These guys and gals are injured, after all — Quinn with a concussion, no less. The NFL should note that it can only do so much to ensure player safety before the players themselves take it into their own hands. If Brady Quinn is going to play through what was apparently a pretty severe concussion, what’s to stop better players from doing the same in games that count? Just some food for thought.

Additionally, Quinn is understandably being benched this week in favor of Matt Cassel. Probably a good move — for Quinn, not the Chiefs, of course.

[Kansas City Star, Getty Images]

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