Head Games: Ex Patriots Receivers Reveal Secret Concussion Pact
For as much progress as the NFL has made on the concussion front, one hurdle remains uncleared, largely in perpetuity. Players are playing a violent game in which toughness and dedication are pillars. As a collective, they will not sacrifice playing time unless forced to by a third party.
Frequently, that third party is the independent neurologist spotting possible concussions. But after big hits, it is often on the training staff to pull athletes off the field if they don’t do so themselves. Thus, a window is open for players to deny or push through possible concussions – further putting themselves at risk.
On Games With Names, former New England Patriots receivers Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola told their concussion stories, including their plan to stay on the field in the event of one.
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“One time you looked at me and said, ‘Dola, if I get hit one more time in the head and I see that star again I’m gonna have to retire,’ Amendola recalled. “I think he saw the star seven more times that year and played for like seven more years after that.”
The two were teammates for the duration of Amendola’s Patriots tenure, from 2013 to 2017 (although Edelman tore his ACL before the 2017 season). The duo would win two Super Bowls together, 2014 and 2016, and were known for their shiftiness. This made them invaluable special teamers who were often tasked with returning punts.
Kickoffs and punts can be considered some of the more dangerous plays in the sport due to the high-speed collisions that are bound to occur. This is also where the two would enact their plan to keep each other on the field.
“One of us would get knocked out, then the other one would come peel us off the ground so we didn’t have to miss the game then possibly the next game,” Amendola said. “Because we had incentives on playing, so it was like, when I come over to you get dung on punt return, I’ll come pick them up and I’ll say, ‘Grab your knee grab your knee.”
“And so we were trying to beat the system.”
They would give each other information that would be asked of them by the medical staff like the date, the score, and the time. Armed with those answers and the alias of another injury, the ex-Patriots seemed to be successful.
One could call it dedication, or dangerously irresponsible, or something in between. But the fact remains that concussions are a part of this sport and aren’t going away anytime soon. The nature of the game all but guarantees that, and until the NFL does a better job of taking the players off the field – an incredible, if not impossible, challenge in itself – stories like these will continue to be told by the players.
