Lions general manger Martin Mayhew opened up his media session on Wednesday evening talking about how optimism quickly turned to disappointment during the team's 4-12 season. He specifically highlighted running back Jahvid Best's inability to return from a 2011 concussion as an example.
Mayhew said counting on Best's return was probably his biggest mistake last season.
"It's no knock on him, he did everything he could to get back," Mayhew said. "Based on the information we were getting, medically, I felt very comfortable that he was coming back. We didn't have a real plan to replace him. All the information that we had, acting in real time, was that he would be back.
"Really, in the history of the NFL, and I've asked people, I can't think of a single time that a player with a head injury, who was asymptomatic, who wanted to play, wasn't allowed to play. I think he was the first one ever."
Mayhew doesn't intend to make the same mistake in 2013.
"I'm not inclined at all to think it's going to work out," he said. "I'm not at all inclined to rely on his return at this point. If that happens, it will be great, but I'm not at all inclined to rely on that."
Source: MLive.com
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January 03, 2013
