Miami Dolphins quarterback Teddy Bridgewater appeared to be the first player to be held out of their game under the NFL and NFLPA’s recently tweaked concussion protocols.
Bridgewater left Sunday’s game against the New York Jets with a head injury and Skylar Thompson was thrust into the game as Tua Tagovailoa was held out with a concussion.
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According to NFL.com, Bridgewater passed the concussion tests but because of information from the ATC spotter and that he appeared to be suffering from ataxia, he was held out and Thompson was put into the game. Ataxia was added to the “no-go” list Saturday when the NFL and NFLPA revised the concussion protocol after Tagovailoa’s scary injury in Week 4 just days after he suffered a back injury and wobbled to the ground.
Officials described ataxia as an “abnormality of balance/stability, motor coordination or dysfunctional speech caused by a neurological issue.” The term replaced “gross motor instability” and has been added to the list of symptoms that would prohibit a player from returning to the game.
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The other symptoms include confusion, amnesia and loss of consciousness.
“The protocol exists to establish a high standard of concussion care for each player whereby every medical professional engages in a meaningful and rigorous examination of the player-patient,” the league and players union said in a joint statement. “To that end, the parties remain committed to continuing to evaluate our protocol to ensure it reflects the intended conservative approach to evaluating player-patients for potential head injuries.”
Miami selected Thompson in the seventh round of the NFL Draft in May.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
