The NFL's concussion protocols have come under fire once again after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 41-31 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Buccaneers tight end Cameron Brate controversially was allowed back into the field after suffering a hit to the head in the second quarter of the game, drawing the ire of retired coach Tony Dungy, especially after Brate was ruled out of the game shortly thereafter due to concussion protocols.
Posting on his Twitter account, Dungy called out what he perceived as NFL's broken system that puts the well-being of players such as Cameron Brate in danger for no real reason whatsoever.
Dungy wrote: “Broken system. I was on the sideline very close to Brate-obvious he had his bell rung. There’s a league appointed spotter in the press box who should stop play & alert the referee. Brate shouldn’t have been allowed to return until after an evaluation. Why didn’t that happen???”
NFL's protection of its players has been a hot-button topic as of late, especially with the ongoing saga of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's concussion. Tagovailoa was notably allowed to re-enter their Week 3 tilt against the Buffalo Bills despite obviously appearing to be stunned in the aftermath of the blow he took to the head.
Nevertheless, it seems as if the Dolphins have learned their lesson and are holding Tagovailoa out of action until he's fully healed. Tony Dungy is right in that the NFL and the NFLPA itself should take some more drastic steps to ensure that their players are well taken care of, especially with head injuries being a huge risk in the game of football. Above anything else however, hopefully Cameron Brate shows no signs of long-term damage from his concussion.
The Buccaneers will have to prepare for their Week 5 tilt against the Atlanta Falcons without Cameron Brate, who's proven to be one of Tom Brady's favorite targets thus far, especially in the past two weeks. Mike Evans will have to continue to play like he's done over the past few games for the Buccaneers to snap their two-game losing skid.