Baltimore Ravens Roster, Injury News 2017: Can Joe Flacco Clear Concussion Protocol in Time to Play on Sunday?
Baltimore Ravens got a huge 40–0 shutout win over the Miami Dolphins last Thursday, but they didn't come away unscathed.
Fans didn't have to wait for the Ravens to announce that starting quarterback Joe Flacco was diagnosed with a concussion because it was clear for all to see when his helmet came off after a brutal hit by Dolphins linebacker Kiko Alonso near the end of the second quarter.
Flacco was attempting to slide to avoid getting tackled, but instead, his head took the brunt of the hit. The veteran quarterback looked dazed seconds after the contact and his left year was bleeding when he was helped off the field.
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As expected, Flacco was immediately placed in the concussion protocol and he needed stitches for his ear. Fortunately, he will have 10 days to get cleared before the Ravens take on the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, Nov. 5.
"It's very difficult for players to come back when there's only a week before games. It's hard to get through the protocol in that time," Dr. Erin E. Manning, a neurologist at the Hospital of Special Surgery in New York, told the Baltimore Sun.
"The 10-day timeline, it seems like it's definitely reasonable, but not everyone responds to concussions in the same way. It's very person dependent. You really can't know [a timetable]. It varies so much from person to person. It's really important to give the brain time to recover after the concussion because it is a brain injury," he continued.
Flacco's status for that game is currently up in the air right now.
Meanwhile, Flacco's teammates and Ravens coach John Harbaugh clearly thought it was an illegal hit, but Alonso has explained that he couldn't have prevented the hit.
As of the moment, the National Football League (NFL) still hasn't decided whether to suspend Alonso for the hit.
