During Sunday's game between the Houston Texans and San Francisco 49ers, quarterback Tom Savage was the recipient of a huge hit that resulted in a concussion.
Following the play, replays showed Savage visibly shaking on the ground in a seizure-like manner seconds after he was tackled by 49ers defensive end Elvis Dumervil.
https://twitter.com/TheRenderNFL/status/939936269924225024
What was most troubling about the situation was that Savage had returned to the game just a few plays later despite showing these symptoms. He looked to have trouble getting up and looked out of sorts coming off the field.
Savage played just one series where he threw two incomplete passes and was replaced by backup T.J. Yates for the remainder of the game. The brutal hit got the attention of Chris Nowinski, who is the founding CEO of Concussion Legacy Foundation and co-director of Boston University's Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, to take to Twitter to voice his disgruntlement.
Disgusted that the @HoustonTexans allowed Tom Savage to return to the game after 2 plays after showing these horrifying #concussion signs (is that a seizure?) after a head impact. I would not let my worst enemy go through the 2017 #NFL sideline concussion protocol… https://t.co/PeJr5ISAIJ
— Chris Nowinski, Ph.D. (@ChrisNowinski1) December 10, 2017
The poor judgment call by the Texans has drawn much attention as Savage could have easily suffered a much more serious injury upon his return. The sheer amount of increased concern for head injuries has put these type of situations in a much greater spotlight. There should be plenty more to come in regards to Houston addressing the situation and procedures they will take moving forward.