The St. Louis Rams were not fined by the NFL for their failure to get quarterback Case Keenum off the field after suffering an obvious concussion. NFL Players Association president Eric Winston wants the league to reconsider their decision, as he believes that the Rams should be fined in their mishandling of Keenum's concussion, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today Sports.
"Complete failure to adhere to protocol," said Winston, via USA Today Sports. "Show me someone that says, 'No the Rams did exactly the right thing.' Everybody knows they didn't. So, there has to be discipline then, right? Because when a player doesn't do something that he's supposed to do, he gets fined for that when it comes to health and safety."
Keenum was clearly hurting after the play and was grabbing his head and rolling on the ground after his head snapped back and hit the turf. "There was no grace period for players," Winston said. "It was, 'Immediately change, or you're going to be fined.' All of a sudden, stuff that was legal isn't legal. And we understand why. There wasn't a fight against it. But all of a sudden that became not only illegal, but fined immediately. While these protocols have now been around for years, (teams are) still not being fined."
Keenum was not examined by a team physician or the unaffiliated neurological consultant on the sideline. The NFL started a new rule this season, in which an "ATC" spotter employed at each game can stop the game at any point if they see a player struggling with a concussion. Rams spokesman Artis Twyman said that the team has no comment regarding Winston's remarks, according to Pelissero.
Keenum has yet to be cleared for the NFL's concussion protocol, and head coach Jeff Fisher has stated that Keenum will return as the starter once he has received medical clearance. Rams quarterback Nick Foles took the first team reps at Wednesday's practice and will start if Keenum is not cleared by Sunday. St. Louis faces division rival the Arizona Cardinals this Sunday and have a difficult challenge, as Arizona's defense is one of the best in the entire league.
