Did Raiders' Jimmy Garoppolo play with concussion vs. Steelers?
The Las Vegas Raiders may find themselves in some hot water after quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo entered the NFL's concussion protocol coming off Sunday night's 23-18 home loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
As noted by Kevin Patra of the league's website and Paul Gutierrez of ESPN, Garoppolo played every snap and was never officially examined for a concussion on Sunday evening even though he was visibly shaken up following a hit delivered by Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in the contest's fourth quarter:
Garoppolo didn't complete his standard postgame media obligations because he was being evaluated for a concussion at the time. His status for this coming Sunday's matchup at the 1-2 Los Angeles Chargers won't be revealed until later in the week.
"I'm not even sure what hit or if it was just an accumulation of [hits], I have no idea," McDaniels said about Garoppolo's head injury. "There was never a conversation about that, so I'm not sure, exactly, and I haven't seen him yet this morning, so I'm not exactly sure when it took place, or if it was just a culmination of things."
Last season, the NFL and NFL Players Association completed an investigation after Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa seemed to play with a head injury during a Week 3 game against the Buffalo Bills. While the Dolphins ultimately were cleared of any wrongdoing related to that matter, it was later suggested that some Miami players suspected Tagovailoa played with a concussion during the Christmas Day matchup against the Green Bay Packers. The Dolphins escaped that situation without receiving any punishment:
It was unknown as of Monday afternoon if the NFL and/or NFLPA will speak with the Raiders about the fact that Garoppolo wasn't checked for a concussion in the fourth quarter of Sunday's loss.
As for the 1-2 Raiders, they would have to start either journeyman veteran Brian Hoyer or fourth-round draft pick Aidan O'Connell at the Chargers if Garoppolo doesn't clear the concussion protocol by this Sunday. According to Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk, O'Connell completed roughly 69% of his passes for 482 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions during the preseason.
"We'll try to do the right thing for the team this week, for sure," McDaniels said about possibly using Garoppolo's injury to let O'Connell face a live defense. "No matter what it is, whatever that ultimately ends up being. We're not going to use this like it would be a preseason game, you know what I mean?"
As of Monday afternoon, OddsChecker listed the Raiders as significant underdogs (+210, +5.5) for the Week 4 game at the Chargers.
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