Getty Amon-Ra St. Brown during a game against Washington in 2022.
The Detroit Lions were witness to a scary situation on the field early in the game against the Dallas Cowboys when Amon-Ra St. Brown got hit in the head, appeared to be woozy and left the field.
St. Brown did not return to the game, but the good news is that he did not sustain a concussion as first feared. When tested on the field, St. Brown passed the screenings, but could not return to the game because of instability he had shown when trying to walk off.
Detroit coach Dan Campbell spoke to the media on Monday, October 24 and addressed where St. Brown was at health-wise. As he said to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press and others, St. Brown’s test came back clean which is the very good news for him moving forward.
It was determined Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, who was pulled from yesterday’s game early by officials, did not suffer a concussion. He remains in concussion protocol. He passed concussion tests on the field, but could not return because of the instability he showed on the field
“It was determined Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, who was pulled from yesterday’s game early by officials, did not suffer a concussion. He remains in concussion protocol. He passed concussion tests on the field, but could not return because of the instability he showed on the field,” Birkett tweeted.
It’s probably more than a bit confusing for fans why St. Brown was ruled out and could not return even after passing on-field tests. That’s part of the NFL’s very cautious and strict regimen for dealing with concussions.
Not willing to risk St. Brown’s health, everyone appears to have erred on the side of caution with regards to St. Brown and his health in this game. It may have cost the Lions in real-time, but it may have helped St. Brown with his long-term health and the team in terms of having a key piece the rest of the way.
The rest of the week into Week 8, it will be interesting to see how St. Brown responds through the protocol and what his status will be.
Confusion Raged Over St. Brown’s Injury
In the first quarter, St. Brown was running with the ball after a catch and got thumped hard from behind. It didn’t look as if anything had happened initially, but St. Brown got up slow and looked to suffer a head or neck injury on the play.
Quickly, that was proven to be the case. The Lions checked St Brown out with the help of an independent neurologist and determined that he would not be coming back to the game due to a potential concussion. He was quickly ruled out.
In real-time, it was hard to tell whether or not the decision to remove St. Brown from the game was legitimate, but Justin Rogers of the Detroit News believes the right choice was made after looking at the tape and seeing St. Brown look unsteady.
Just watched the replay and the official made the right call sending St. Brown off. The shaking of the head after the hit while staying down merits an evaluation.
“Just watched the replay and the official made the right call sending St. Brown off. The shaking of the head after the hit while staying down merits an evaluation,” Rogers tweeted.
Safety was the first priority for St. Brown and the Lions, which is certainly the good news for the team. In this case, the NFL regulations seem to have worked. The Lions wouldn’t have wanted a potentially concussed player on the field the rest of the game.
Watch St. Brown’s Injury From Sunday
The play that St. Brown was injured on looked innocent enough. The wideout took a pass on the side and ran with it for a short game, but was quickly smacked from behind. When he got up, he appeared to stagger.
Here’s a look at the video:
The play in which Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown was injured.
St. Brown has been ruled out for the rest of today’s game due to a concussion.
The hit was hard, and St. Brown did in fact look a bit unsteady coming off the field and getting up. That fact prevented him from returning to the game, but now, the focus will be on how quickly he can come out of protocol.
At the very least, it’s great news to hear that St. Brown didn’t sustain a concussion and can move forward in a healthy fashion now.