NFL Announces Mandatory Independent Concussion Specialists

After last weeks failure by the Cleveland Browns’ to test quarterback Colt McCoy for a concussion the NFL has announced new independently certified athletics trainers for all 32 NFL teams. The job of these ICAT’s will be to monitor players suspected of taking concussion-related blows during game time.

Each trainer will be paid by the NFL and they will first need to be approved by the NFL Players Association.

The sole purpose of these independent contractors will be to demand treatment of concussions as quickly as possible and to ensure that medical staff on the sideline are using proper league protocol in testing for head trauma.

The independent trainers will be placed in an upstairs booth where they will be able to see every on-field hit as it occurs and they will be given direct communication to the team’s sideline medical staff.

The new additions to each team comes after Commissioner Roger Goodell took part in a four-hour conference call to discuss Colt McCoy’s injury which ended up revealing some “gray areas” in the league’s concussion examination policies.

Even with the new policy in place the NFLPA hasn’t said whether they will still file a grievance on McCoy’s behalf.

Do you think the new independently certified athletics trainers will help the NFL discover more concussion than have previously been reported by team doctors?