Add retired Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson to the list of NFL players who have hidden a concussion from team doctors.
Johnson recently said “of course” when asked if he ever hid a concussion from the Lions during his nine-year NFL career, per USA Today.
“Guys get concussions, they don’t tell the coaches,” Johnson said Saturday following a football camp, per Dave Birkett of USA Today. “It happens. I don’t tell the coach sometimes cause I know I got a job to do. The team needs me out there on the field. And sometimes you allow that to jeopardize yourself, but that’s just the nature of the world.”
Johnson missed nine of 144 games in his career, which is impressive given the physical nature of his position. As Birkett notes, Johnson never officially missed a game because of a head injury.
Johnson’s admission comes less than a week after Gisele Bundchen revealed her husband and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had a concussion during the 2016 season. Brady never was listed on the injury report as having a concussion.
This past week certainly has shown that the NFL has much more work to do in identifying concussions and making sure players don’t go back into games after suffering a head injury.
Thumbnail photo via Tim Fuller/USA TODAY Sports Images
