The Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffered a disappointing loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night, 41-31. One of the most controversial moments in the game came when Bucs tight end Cameron Brate was diagnosed with a concussion at halftime.

Due to the highly physical nature of the sport, concussions are not exactly uncommon in the NFL. However, what makes Brate's case contentious is the fact that he was allowed to return to the game even after suffering a head injury late in the second quarter, only to be placed under the league's concussion protocol moments later (via Mike Florio of PFT):

Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles has now spoken out about the incident. According to the Tampa shot-caller, the team believed that Brate was suffering a shoulder injury and that they had no inclination early on that it could have been a concussion:

“He complained of shoulder discomfort,” Bowles said of Brate. “Nothing about his head. He was checked out three times. He just said give him a minute. Nothing came up. He went back in until the end of the half. At halftime, he started having symptoms. Obviously, they were delayed. He started complaining about that. They tested him, he’s in the protocol. We kept him out the rest of the game.”

It's a good thing that nothing serious happened to Brate after he returned to the game while he was dealing with a concussion. This situation could have been much worse.

For his part, however, Bowles is adamant that the Buccaneers did not do anything wrong here:

“He complained about his shoulder, not his head,” Bowles said. “You can’t see a neurologist or talk about concussions if you’re only complaining about your shoulder. … It was a noticeable hit. But again, it was on the shoulder. Nobody said nothing about the head. He got checked out three times. He said he just needed a minute for his shoulder to clear up, and that was it.”

The truth is, somebody on the team should have noticed that concussion, or at least that Brate may have been showing some symptoms. This is why teams have multiple medical personnel in attendance. This is also why the NFL has stern concussion protocols in place — something that is now being heavily questioned amid all these concerning head injuries.