While referee Tony Corrente’s crew was sorting through all this and enforcing the penalty, Keenum was slow getting up after the back of his head hit the turf at M&T Bank Stadium. Keenum was visibly shaken, immediately grabbing his head before struggling to get to his feet. But Nick Foles, the backup quarterback, apparently suspected something was wrong, as he quickly began warming up.
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The NFL has opened an investigation into the St Louis Rams after quarterback Case Keenum suffered a concussion on Sunday. The League also launched an investigation alongside the NFL Players Association to determine why Keenum was not removed from the game. Two plays later, Keenum fumbled a crucial late-game turnover that enabled the Ravens to win the game, 16-13.
“I was in a position on the sideline where I didn’t necessarily see – I saw Case go down – but I didn’t see anything else that took place”, Fisher said.
Fisher said he had no idea that Keenum was even going through concussion protocol after the game until he had finished his postgame press conference. But he was allowed to stay in the game.
Harbaugh said it will be interesting to see, but that there’s no way to know.
Six days before Keenum was left out to dry by a coach who prioritized winning over player health, Houston Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer, who didn’t play this week due to his concussion, was put in a similar situation.
Although Flacco’s final two plays were both handoffs, he still had to take the snap and hand the ball off. Those two plays gained 12-yards, which took the Ravens from the Rams’ 41-yard line to their 29. It was common at that time to see analysts rank him as a better quarterback than Flacco.
After the game, Flacco stated, “I’ve done my MCL a couple of times, and I knew it was a lot worse than that”.
“Fortunately, Case feels really good”, Fisher said.
People who were watching the game, including ex-Patriots and Broncos offensive lineman Dan Koppen, felt that Rams coach Jeff Fisher should have pulled Keenum after the obvious injury.
“The head trainer was told to leave the field”, Fisher said. I was in the game management mode at that point, less than a minute left. Fisher did speak but was not asked about the irresponsible decision not to remove Keenum.
A statement was released by the NFL explaining the league’s reasoning behind launching a review into Keenum’s concussion and all the previous events that led up to Keenum remaining in the game in the wake of the controversial events following the hit. Running back Justin Forsett broke his arm in the first half of the game and will also miss the rest of the season. That lost point affected the strategy in the fourth quarter when the Ravens scored a touchdown to get to within 13-9.
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The NFL and more than 5,000 former players agreed to a settlement of concussion-related lawsuits in April that could cost the league $1 billion, if approved. Cecil Shorts ran the football 4 times for 26 yards, and Jonathan Grimes had success out of the formation as well.
