I understand that. I’m just saying you don’t want to create another reason or another way to do this.
Welker should really consider getting out while he still can. He should not be *forced *out by the League though. Especially since the league should not have that power, it should be between the player and his team. the Broncos, on the other hand, should probably start thinking about his best interests.
If it makes you feel better, Bradford missing 25 straight regular season games between last year and this year will pretty much guarantee his end as a starting QB in the league. Even if he does come back he will spend a while holding a clipboard from someone which will go a lot easier on his knee.
Welker should really consider getting out while he still can.
Let’s not forget unintended consequences if you start banning people from playing due to concusions. If the league does it, teams are going to conceal concusions to avoid losing star players.
If the team does it, players are going to try to conceal from the team (harder, but not if the coaching and support staff aren’t fully on board with the policy).
What’s needed is a clear recommendation and an incentive to retire (e.g. X concusions qualifies you for a medical retirement which means … )
I’m not a doctor, I can’t comment on what I’d do or advise Wes Welker to do.
I’m curious as to what the players’ union has to say about this.
The big catch is that while orthopedic injuries and the like are easily diagnosed, and post-rehab performance is easily measured, things like concussions are a murky thing. Guys get cut all the time and not rehired because they get hurt, and can’t play like they used to when they come back.
Someone like Troy Aikman could have 7 concussions in his playing days and not really suffer any material deficiencies in ability that can be directly traced to the concussions. But in say… 2035, he may suffer from CTE. Or not. Or he may go the same route as Muhammad Ali with some sort of Parkinsons-like illness.
That’s the problem- concussions and head impacts in general (most CTE suicides have been linemen and linebackers, not the guys who typically get their bells rung in spectacular fashion) are clearly a problem, but not something that much can be done about with the current state of the league, the medical knowledge and technology.
I can envision some point down the road where players only get so many impacts above a certain force, and then they’re required to quit, but that would take some sort of player tracking system from pee-wee football all the way to the pros. However, I think it’s a lot more likely that what’ll happen is that more will be found out about CTE, and school districts and colleges will quit offering football, or the game will change significantly (like no face masks), and the NFL will have to follow suit, due to a lack of trained players & more awareness of what the current style of play will cause.
Personally, I think Wes Welker is an idiot if he doesn’t retire. Nothing’s worth that sort of risk, certainly not money when you’re already wealthy. Then again, he did go to Texas Tech, so he’s already got a strike against him in the smarts category.
While I too would retire if I were him. As you outlined, I think it’s hard to say how much additional risk he is taking by continuing to play.
I agree that the NFL and the teams acting in concert should not be allowed to automatically retire a player due to concussions. However, I also think at this point players should forfeit the right to sue for any damages caused by said concussions. They know now. Deal with it or quit playing. If the NFL will be on the hook for his stupid behavior, then they should be allowed a means to prevent it.
Oh. And Wes is an idiot if he keeps playing. He keeps this up, his brain will end up in Boston and provide further evidence for future players about the risks.
Actually that’s the interesting part- it’s not necessarily concussions that are the elephant in the room with CTE. What seems to be more… “reliable”(?) at causing problems down the line is an accumulation of sub-concussive hits, like linemen and linebackers have on every play, or like boxers get when punched. No one hit causes a concussion, but the aggregate effect is terrible.
Put another way, it’s probably worse in the long haul to be punched/butt heads 1000 times than to have 7 concussions.
That’s the elephant in the room; the NFL makes a lot of noise about concussions and concussion protocols, etc… while blithely letting the linemen and linebackers bang heads every play. Defensive backs seem more prone as well, likely due to the fact that they get in on a lot more tackles than wide receivers get the ball thrown at them.
Overall, I’d guess that WR or QB are probably the safest overall position for not getting CTE; there’s only serious contact on a fraction of the plays.