INDIANAPOLIS – Colts coach Chuck Pagano defended the team’s medical staff on Monday a day after questions arose on how they handled quarterback Jacoby Brissett’s concussion situation in Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“Our guys, if they’re not 100 percent, they’re not going to put them back out there. Period,” Pagano said.
Brissett went into the concussion tent on the sideline after he took a shot to the back of the head from Steelers defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt on a third-down scramble with less than two minutes left in the third quarter. Backup quarterback Scott Tolzien took the field on the Colts’ next series, only to have Brissett run on at the last second.
Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett remains in the concussion protocol after he was injured Sunday against Pittsburgh. Marc Lebryk/USA TODAY Sports
Brissett’s postgame media session was cancelled after the team announced that he developed concussion symptoms following their 20-17 loss to the Steelers.
Pagano said they plan to send the NFL the video of the play to review because there wasn’t a flag thrown on the play and it appeared to be a helmet-to-helmet hit on the play. He was asked if evaluating for concussions on the sideline is a difficult thing for the NFL to handle.
“No, I think it’s simple,” he said. “I think they got the thing set up the way it’s supposed to be set up. A guy gets hit and there’s a helmet-to-helmet shot and we all see it – you can go back and look at the TV copy, you guys saw the same thing I saw. You’re not supposed to be able to do that (helmet-to-helmet hits), but it happened. We pull him out, they go through the protocol, check off all the boxes, dot the I’s, cross the T’s. No, they’re doing what they’re supposed to do.”
Brissett did not speak to the media on Monday because he’s still in the concussion protocol. The Colts don’t play again until Nov. 26 because they have their bye this weekend. Tolzien will start against the Tennessee Titans if Brissett is still in the protocol.
Case Keenum tells reporters that he’s a big Teddy Bridgewater fan and says that he raises the “cool factor of the quarterback group.”
LANDOVER, Maryland — The Minnesota Vikings are 7-2 and Case Keenum has started seven of the games as their quarterback.
You had that, right? Back in August, when you were making your NFL season predictions, you had the Vikings at 7-2 with Keenum the quarterback? Sure you did.
You probably also had the New Orleans Saints at 7-2, rolling into Buffalo in Week 10 and hanging 47 on the No. 6-ranked scoring defense without a single Drew Brees touchdown pass.
And you had both of those teams a game behind the 8-1 Philadelphia Eagles, with the Los Angeles Rams duking it out atop the NFC West with the Seattle Seahawks and the Carolina Panthers comfortably between those first-place Saints and the third-place Atlanta Falcons in the South.
If you did predict all of this — heck, if you predicted any of it — we’d like your thoughts on this week’s lottery numbers. And by “we,” I mean me and Case Keenum, who seems as amused about what’s going on with him and the Vikings as anyone.
“Just feels good, is all,” Keenum said after throwing for 304 yards, four touchdowns and two keep-em-in-the-game second-half interceptions in the Vikings’ 38-30 victory over Washington here Sunday. “I love this squad, I love this team, I love this offense, I love these coaches and we’re having fun.”
Yeah, 7-2 is fun, no doubt, and the Vikings are feeling no pain right now. They’ve won five games in a row, increasing their point total each week, and hold a two-game lead in the NFC North on both the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers. This past week, they put Week 1 starting quarterback Sam Bradford on injured reserve and activated former starter Teddy Bridgewater. The latter’s return to the starting lineup might feel like a foregone conclusion to lots of folks around the team, and certainly to most on the outside. But career backup Keenum doesn’t seem too bothered by any of it.
“Teddy’s a fan favorite. He’s my favorite, too,” Keenum said. “I may have a Teddy Bridgewater jersey at home. Teddy definitely raises the cool factor of the quarterback group. Tremendously.”
That’s Keenum, talking about the guy everybody thinks is about to take his job. That’s where the Vikings are right now. They’re 7-2 and don’t seem all the way sure about how.
“Case played outstanding,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said, then in the next breath, “I wish the two throws he had in the second half he would not have made. But you know, he’s an excitable guy and he needs to understand what are the good plays and what are the bad plays sometimes.”
Said Keenum the Excitable: “I need to not make a bad play worse. I gave them a couple of gifts.”
Adam Thielen had eight catches for 166 yards and a touchdown in the win over Washington. AP Photo/Alex Brandon
You wonder, looking ahead, how long this can last. The Vikings play two very tough games in the next 11 days — home this Sunday to the first-place Rams and then at Detroit on Thanksgiving. Two straight road games in Atlanta and Carolina follow that, and by the time they’re through that gauntlet we’ll have some better idea about how good the Vikings are, what their best option is at quarterback and what their chances are of becoming the first team to play a Super Bowl in its home stadium.
There was talk after the game from Zimmer about being able to play better with a big lead, but he said it while kind of shaking his head — as if amazed like the rest of us that that’s a problem the Keenum-led Vikings confront. And the defense sure didn’t love seeing Kirk Cousins & Co. put 30 points on the board. But the standings label the Vikings a contender, and that means there’s a foundation for something cool.
The NFC is upside down. The Seahawks are chasing the high-octane Rams. The Saints have a smothering defense and their run game can’t be stopped. Carson Wentz is the conference’s best quarterback so far. The Falcons can’t seem to get clicking. The Cowboys are playing without their offensive engine. The Panthers and Lions keep finding ways to win ugly. The Packers are doing what they can without Aaron Rodgers.
The top team in the conference took the week off. The teams right behind the Eagles kept the heat on. There’s no way to know what the rest of the season holds for Keenum, Bridgewater and the gang, but if you’re in first place in the NFC right now and you’re thinking “Why not us?” — who can blame you?
Lance Dunbar was added to the Los Angeles Rams’ active roster Saturday and is expected to serve as the new backup for star running back Todd Gurley, a need in the wake of Malcolm Brown’s recent knee injury.
Dunbar, who spent the previous five seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, was signed as a free agent but missed the entirety of the offseason program and training camp because of a pre-existing knee issue. He began the year on the physically unable to perform list, but has been practicing with the Rams over the last two weeks.
Lance Dunbar missed the entirety of the offseason program and training camp because of a pre-existing knee issue. Christian Petersen/Getty Images
“He’ll be a guy that we’re counting on,” Rams coach Sean McVay told the media from the team facility on Friday.
“I think part of the reason we brought him here is he’s a pretty versatile guy out of the backfield,” offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur added. “He’s got very good receiving skills. He’s a guy that’s been in the league for six years, so he’s got that veteran experience, as well.”
The Rams also promoted Johnny Mundt from the practice squad to replace Derek Carrier as the No. 3 tight end for Sunday’s home game against the Houston Texans. Carrier (hamstring) and outside linebacker Robert Quinn (illness) are each doubtful for the Week 10 game from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Brown suffered a high-grade MCL sprain during Sunday’s 51-17 win over the New York Giants, but will not require surgery. The Rams also have Justin Davis, an undrafted free agent out of USC, as an option at running back.
To create room on the active roster for Dunbar and Mundt, the Rams waived offensive lineman Andrew Donnal and transferred defensive back Isaiah Johnson to the practice squad. Dunbar will wear No. 25.
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Martellus Bennett disputes that the Green Bay Packers should have released him with the “failure to disclose a physical condition” designation.
The veteran tight end was cut on Wednesday and claimed off waivers by the New England Patriots on Thursday.
Bennett signed a three-year, $21 million contract that included a $6.3 million signing bonus in free agency. He played in just seven games for the Packers.
Bennett used his Instagram Story — the same avenue he used to post during the bye week that he was “pretty sure” he would retire after this season — to tell his side of the story.
“The packers examined my shoulder on my visit March 10 and cleared it,” he wrote. “They even gave me an xray as well. It got worse during the season, specifically against the Cowboys so I asked to have it checked out and we checked it. After a few days of contemplating to play with it or get surgery, I chose surgery. Now here we are …”
Bennett, however, passed his physical with the Patriots on Friday and was on the practice field. Still, he posted that he wasn’t happy that the Packers’ longtime team physician Dr. Pat McKenzie allegedly encouraged him to play. McKenzie, however, has long been known as one of the most conservative doctors around the league.
“They tried to f— me over,” Bennett continued on his Instagram story. “Dr. McKenzie trying to cover his own ass. After trying to persuade me to play thru a major injury and choosing to get surgery.
“They have access to all my medical records. My shoulder wasn’t where it is now at the beginning of the season. I f—– it up playing for the @packers.”
“Dr. McKenzie didn’t make [me] feel safe and was pushing to play, which I thought was weird. Not that he was trying to get me to play thru it but the way he was saying things. I didn’t trust him. So I got 3 other opinions from doctors who all said I need to get it fixed. So I decided to do that. And they decided to waive me the some bulls— excuse. Failure [to] disclose.
“Every week we do a body evaluation sheet in the weight room and pretty much every week I circled my shoulder. I just kept playing but it got worse.
“During the bye week I got off anti inflammatories to clean my system and could really feel the pain. So I asked to examine it first day back in. And that’s when we found out it was really f– up.”
“They knew.
Martellus Bennett said he wasn’t happy that the Packers’ long-time team physician Dr. Pat McKenzie allegedly encouraged him to play. AP Photo/Mike Roemer
“They panicked. Thinking that I was trying to go on IR and be on their books next year. When I mentioned that I would possible retire. So they tried to f— me before they thought I would f— them. This was all about money.”
“All about money. I get it. But don’t lie homie. You knew wtf was up.
“I had intentions of playing all 8 games as I mentioned in the post during the bye week, but found out it was worse than I felt after getting it checked out.
“Now I’m like f— it.
“I chose my health over the ‘team’. They chose money over me.”
The first public hint of a shoulder injury came after Bennett returned from the bye week. He practiced with the team during their first workout Tuesday but was on the field the next day and later showed up on the injury report.
The Packers did not have any comment after Bennett’s post, but Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson posted a statement on Twitter later on Friday to defend the organization and the medical team.
Earlier on Friday coach Mike McCarthy addressed the situation.
“I’m not going to get into the Patriots claiming Marty, I’ll just reiterate what I said yesterday: I just know what the facts are and how the timeline came about,” McCarthy said. “I talked to him Tuesday [following the bye week] after practice and he [had] a shoulder concern injury. I advised him to get the second opinions. He did that and he went to a number of them. The last medical conversation I was involved with in regards to Marty, they were talking about scheduling surgery. After that, then you have the termination and then the claim. I really don’t have any comments on that. I’ve answered the question for the last time, respectfully.”
Said tight end Richard Rodgers: “I think we know where we’re trying to go. If someone is not on that boat, it’s better that they’re not here. We’re looking to move on. We know our ultimate goal. We have to continue to execute on offense.”
Bennett is questionable for Sunday night’s game in Denver with a shoulder injury. He was limited in practice Friday, per the Patriots’ participation report.
