A crying Luke Kuechly puts a human face on head injuries

When an NFL player suffers an in-game head injury these days, he’s usually helped off the field and promptly disappears. The TV cameras don’t follow him unless it’s a star player. The next time anyone hears anything about him is in the week that follows the game, when his coach talks about concussion protocols and the like while the player still is mostly hidden from view.

In other words, we rarely see tangible evidence of the immediate toll that head injuries take on a football player’s body and mind.

But then this happened during Thursday night’s game between the Panthers and the Saints:

Luke Kuechly, Carolina’s Pro Bowl linebacker and the heart of the team’s defense, was carted off the field for a concussion evaluation late in the fourth quarter after taking a shot to the back of his head on a tackle. The cameras rolled as he sobbed. If it indeed is a concussion — we’re still waiting for the official word — it would be Kuechly’s second in as many seasons; he missed 34 days with a head injury in 2015.

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We’ve seen what head injuries do to players as they age, and it’s often horrible. But now we have a clear view of what they do immediately after the moment of impact, live, on television. Head injuries make strong men cry.

As for why, here’s former NFL tight end Christian Fauria, who suffered concussions during his playing career from 1995 to 2007:

Kuechly tears are from concussion symptom. Not BC of injury. Tears arrive BC of fear of NOT knowing what he hell is going on. #helpless

If the sight of a prominent NFL player sobbing on the field doesn’t have an impact on how the league, its players and its fans view head injuries, I’m not sure anything will.

UPDATE 12:05 P.M. EST

While far from an official update on Keuchly’s condition, Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis posted a photo Friday on his Instagram that shows him in seemingly good spirits.

Panthers Coach Ron Rivera would only divulge Friday that Kuechly is in the concussion protocol:

Ron Rivera has no update on the status of Luke Kuechly, other than the fact that he is in the concussion protocol.

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