Cincinnati Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow recently revealed that he played through head injuries, even ones so bad where he didn’t even remember an entire game.
During an interview on Colin Cowherd’s podcast (h/t Lorenzo Reyes of USA Today), Burrow talked about his experience in playing through head injuries. Burrow explained that though he recalls being “a little dizzy” in one instance, he hasn’t had any “long-lasting” head injuries.
“It’s hard to say. You start to ring a little bit. I’ve never had any lasting effects from a concussion. I’ve been hit and forgot the rest of the game before. That has happened a couple of times. But I’ve never had one where I have headaches for a week or where I have symptoms where I have headaches for like a week.
“I’ve had some (hits) where I don’t remember the second half or I don’t remember the entire game or I know I got a little dizzy at one point. But nothing long-lasting.”
The NFL’s issues with concussions have been widely discussed over the past week, largely because of two injuries to Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
In Miami’s Week 3 home game against the Buffalo Bills, Tagovailoa had to leave after taking a hit and slamming his head into the ground. Tagovailoa clearly wobbly and fell to the ground after he tried to stand up.
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After the game against Buffalo, the No. 5 pick of the 2020 NFL Draft stated that he had suffered a back injury.
Tagovailoa wound up returning to the game, helping Miami defeat Buffalo 21-19. Four days later, Tagovailoa had to be stretchered off in the Thursday night game against the Bengals after he again slammed his head hard into the turf.
The NFL and the Dolphins received major backlash for allowing Tagovailoa to play on a short week despite the scare against Buffalo. Tagovailoa was diagnosed with a concussion after the Miami game and has already been ruled out for the Dolphins’ Week 5 contest against the New York Jets.
The NFLPA subsequently fired the consultant who gave Tagovailoa the clearance to play against Cincinnati. On Tuesday, it was reported that the former Alabama star met with the NFL and the NFLPA to discuss the concussion check on him.
Backup Teddy Bridgewater, who finished Miami’s Week 4 game against Cincinnati, will start against the Jets. Miami is 3-1 on the season, tied with Buffalo for the top record in the AFC East division.
