The Oakland Raiders suffered a disappointing 37-21 loss to the Denver Broncos on Monday night, but the biggest story coming out of that game is the condition of starting quarterback Terrelle Pryor.
Pryor suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter of the game after a vicious hit from Broncos linebacker Wesley Woodyard, but would stay in the game for two more plays before eventually leaving the field with medical personnel.
Now, according to ESPN, the NFLPA will be looking into the matter and whether or not the Raiders followed proper league concussion protocol.
Raiders head coach Dennis Allen has said that he believes the Raiders did everything they were supposed to in the situation:
Football’s a tough sport, and there’s going to be collisions and you try to do everything you can to make sure that you’re taking into account player safety, and I think our medical people followed the protocol that’s set forth by the NFL.
After reviewing game tape, the union has questions as to whether Pryor was checked for concussion symptoms before being allowed to continue, and whether Pryor went to the sideline to talk to Coach Allen, as Allen stated he did.
Allen said that Pryor showed no concussion symptoms after the game, and doctors have noted that, due to adrenaline, players may be unaware that they have suffered a concussion and symptoms may occur later. Later that night, of course, Pryor took to twitter and revealed that he didn’t remember much from the game.
The NFL has made it a point to take concussions and head trauma very seriously, and recently came to a huge $765 million settlement with retired players. Needless to say, if something was done wrong in this instance, the Raiders could pay a serious price.