Colt McCoy took a nasty helmet-to-helmet hit from James Harrison on Thursday night, forcing him to exit the game. It looked for sure like he was concussed and that there was no way he would return to the game. That wasn't the case, though, as he came back two plays later.
After the game, the Browns requested that all the lights be turned down for McCoy's interview because he was suffering concussion-like symptoms (McCoy also told his father that he didn't remember anything after the hit). The concern, of course, is that the Browns didn't protect their own player by allowing McCoy back on the field after the hit. NFL Network cameras showed McCoy's hand getting looked at by trainers during the two plays he sat out, but it didn't appear that McCoy was checked at all for a concussion. Browns head coach Pat Shurmur says that wasn't the case and McCoy was tested:
"If he would have shown symptoms of a concussion, then I wouldn't have put him back in the game, absolutely not," said Shurmur, who goes by the decision of the medical staff. "We go through the strict protocol to evaluate whether there are concussion like symptoms." [...]
"I can assure everyone that we followed the protocol," he said. "At one point during the game, I told Colt, 'I talk to you like I talk to my son.' In fact, I said that. I have a lot of compassion for our players."
Shurmur said he was going to talk to McCoy's father, who said there was no way his son should've been put back into the game, but it's possible Shurmur may have to answer to the NFL on this one, as well.