When Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson was hit in the head by Minnesota Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway a couple weeks ago, there was some concern at the time that Megatron had suffered a concussion. He looked a bit woozy, and on the sideline it was clear that doctors were testing him for a possible concussion.
With Johnson returning to the game shortly after the hit (which resulted in a $21,000 fine for Greenway), it seemed that he was fine. Had he been concussed, Johnson wouldn't have returned to the game, so there was no need to worry, right? Wrong, actually. Although he passed the tests administered by doctors, Johnson admitted on Thursday that he did suffer a concussion against the Vikings. Via the Free Press, here's what Johnson said when asked about if he was concussed:
"Yeah, yeah, he knocked me good," Johnson said. "You could tell. It was obvious."
That is not exactly what you want to hear considering how much emphasis there is on being smart with concussions, especially given what's happened with Jahvid Best. I suppose there's not much you can do to keep a player out of the game if he passes the tests, though. According to Jim Schwartz, the tests showed nothing wrong despite Johnson admitting now that he suffered a concussion.
"Our evaluation was that he was not concussed," Schwartz said. "He was thoroughly checked. We’re very strong in our evaluation. He was cleared to go back in the game, and he was on a protocol after that, and he was cleared then. We’re very strong in our evaluation, and we are, as an organization, I think we have some credibility when it comes to concussions."
I'm not really sure why Johnson felt the need to disclose this to the media. Concussions are a big deal, and while I understand the mindset behind going back into the game, it doesn't reflect positively on the Lions for this to come out a couple weeks later.
Reminder: You can follow Pride Of Detroit on Twitter and like us on Facebook.