While it may not be a big week for rules changes, the NFL has taken at least one smart step which should make players safer.
Via Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the league unanimously approved the proposal to grant a medical timeout.
The rule will allow the injury spotter upstairs to communicate directly with the on-field officials, to stop the clock if a player appears to be shaken up to the point a further check is warranted.
Competition committee chairman Rich McKay said yesterday the proposal was sparked in part by Julian Edelman taking a hard shot in the Super Bowl, appearing woozy but staying in the game.
As you might imagine, Patriots coach Bill Belichick didn’t shed any light on what the team did or didn’t do in that situation, and Edelamn himself has refused to say if he was checked for a concussion.
“You’d have to talk to the medical people about that. I was coaching the game,” Belichick said, via Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald.