Sports

NFL Says 281 Concussions Diagnosed in 2017, Most in Last 6 Years

January 28, 2018 01:47·
Packers' Davante Adams lies on the field after being hit in the head

Packers' Davante Adams lies on the field after being hit in the head

The previous high was 275 in 2015.

The 179 concussions that occurred in regular-season games and 46 during preseason games were up from last season, something NFL chief medical officers Dr. Allen Sills said the league will try to combat in 2018. "It is something which challenges us now to roll up our sleeves and continue to work hard to see that number come down, and I believe that we will attack the problem in a number of ways". "We take this as a challenge because we're not going to be satisfied until we drive that number much lower, and that's going to continue to be a focus of our efforts". Not only is that an increase from 2016, it's the highest registered total in the six years the National Football League tracked concussion totals. It will prepare and transmit individualized reports for each team, likely by the beginning of March.

"Obviously that draws our attention after a couple years where those preseason practice concussions decreased", Miller said. Almost half (47 percent) of all concussions included some self-reporting component when being flagged by team doctors and independent neurological specialists. That represents a 15.3 percent increase over 2016, when 243 were recorded. An average of 6.9 injuries were reported during Thursday games - a 1.6 increase over last season.

During the 2017 campaign, there were 281 instances of concussion being diagnosed. Players who display either of these signs at any time shall be removed from play and may not return to the game.

The league has defended its Thursday night schedule, which puts players back on the field with three days' less rest than normal, by noting that they produced no difference in injury rates.

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What has been most concerning about this increase in head injuries is that much more came in practices and not in the games themselves.

The data also compared Thursday night injuries to those that occur during Saturday, Sunday or Monday games.

Also, injuries to the two primary knee ligaments in 2017 were mostly unchanged from 2016.

There were 54 torn ACLs in 2017, from 56 a year ago, while there were 147 MCL tears compared to 143 the previous season. There also 147 MCL tears, up slightly from 143 in 2016.

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