The in-game handling of DeVante Parker’s head injury in the first quarter of the New England Patriots’ win over the Arizona Cardinals is drawing some serious attention.
The NFL and NFLPA reportedly are reviewing the incident to make sure protocols were followed as Parker was visibly impaired after making a catch. The wide receiver struggled to line up properly on the next play with teammate Nelson Agholor vehemently imploring the referees to stop the play. Whistles were finally blown after Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury threw a challenge flag.
Parker was certainly upset with how things played out and had a fierce message for the league while Agholor was clearly unhappy as well.
Patriots quarterback Mac Jones wasn’t anywhere close to as outspoken as Parker, but the second-year signal-caller did address the situation when appearing on Audacy’s WEEI 93.7 “Merloni, Fauria & Mego” show on Tuesday.
“I think definitely some people have jobs to do and there’s a lot going on in the game,” Jones said. “I hope D.P.’s OK. Obviously, he got out on that play. I know he’s doing better and that’s important is the health of the players.”
Parker was helped to the sideline and taken into the pop-up medical tent before being ruled out by the Patriots for the remainder of the contest.
The handling of Parker’s injury was vastly different to that of Devin McCourty. The independent in-stadium concussion spotter, which the NFL has for every game, alerted officials to get McCourty off the playing field once he showed concussions-like symptoms after trying to make a tackle late in the game.
With Parker dealing with the injury and his status moving forward unclear despite Jones saying he had improved, the Patriots could possibly have one less pass-catcher to throw when they try to make it two wins in a row when they face the Las Vegas Raiders on the road on Sunday.
