Last Word On Pro Football, Fred Thurston

Green Bay Packers cornerback Sam Shields has never been known as the “big-hit” guy. He has never been confused for Chuck Cecil or Ronnie Lott. However, he may have just tallied up the same amount of concussions as the both of them. Shields entered the NFL’s concussion protocol after a week 1 tackle of Jacksonville Jaguars running back T.J. Yeldon. This will be Shields’ fifth documented concussion in his football career dating back to his days at the University of Miami. Was this Sam Shield’s last big hit? The concussion concerns of Sam Shields continue to rise.

Sam Shields‘ Last Big Hit

Early Retirement

As most Packer fans waited throughout the week in anticipation of whether or not Shields would get to play against the Minnesota Vikings, others began to be concerned if he will ever suit up again. Five concussions in a career can be detrimental to one’s health going forward. And in today’s game, you are seeing the effects publicized much more and players taking actions much quicker. He certainly wouldn’t be the first guy to retire because of concerns about head injuries. Just last year, former Wisconsin Badger Chris Borland retired at age 24 because of concussions. Buffalo Bills linebacker A.J. Tarpley did the same this past off-season at age 23.

Sam Shields is entering his seventh season with the Packers and is considered to be their best corner. At age 28, he is in the third season of a four-year, $39 million contract. He would keep his salary this season if he retired because of injury, but pass on $9 million owed next fall. Which raises the question: When do you put your health ahead of your bank account? Shields has won a Super Bowl. He has made a little over $33 million. No one would fault him for walking away. Can he though? We will find out.

What the Doctor Says

Because Shields’ most recent concussion came within a year of the one before, his symptoms could be worse. Dr. Andrew Russman, a neurologist at the Cleveland Clinic’s Cerebrovascular Center, said he’s willing to weigh those questions with any athlete who experienced multiple concussions.

“Having more concussions is associated with having a risk of future concussions,” Russman said. “It’s associated with having more symptoms if you have a future concussion. So in that way, you can think of it like prior concussion synthesizes us to (a) future concussion, and it makes it more likely to happen again, and it makes it more likely for the symptoms to be more bothersome.”

There is no “magic number” for football players to know when it’s time to walk away, Dr. Vernon Williams of the Kerlan-Jobe Center for Sports Neurology told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. More troubling, Williams said, is a pattern that develops with each subsequent brain injury.

“It doesn’t matter how tough you are,” Williams said, “if you’re the starter or second- or third-stringer, or if this is the first quarter or fourth quarter of the Super Bowl, or a preseason practice. Your brain doesn’t know. So when those injuries occur, we have to respect all of them. Every single one of them is important and serious.”

Packers Next Move

This is absolutely alarming. The Green Bay Packers ruled Shields out of Sunday night’s game against the Minnesota Vikings and will keep a close eye on him during the week.
“Any time any of our players are in the protocol and dealing with a concussion, it’s a concern,” coach Mike McCarthy said this week. “That’s why we’ll evaluate Sam each and every day, and most importantly to make sure he’s healthy and goes through the challenges of what he’s dealing with.

“We definitely are aware of his history, and that will factor in on how we move forward.”

You have to wonder if Ted Thompson made the moves he did in the 2014 NFL Draft with the knowledge of this. There was an obvious need for corner on the roster, but with four concussions already, Thompson must have thought a fifth was around the corner.

There is no hurry, but the threat to Shields’ career becomes more ominous as time passes. If not this concussion, Shields is statistically at greater risk of suffering another, more severe injury to his brain. At some point, he might have to decide whether it’s time to walk away.