Colt McCoy Had Signs Of A Concussion, Father Says

WIth just under six minutes remaining in the Cleveland Browns Thursday Night Football loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Browns QB Colt McCoy was on the receiving end of a vicious hit from Steelers LB James Harrison. McCoy hit the dirt and briefly exited the game before returning.

You can see video of the hit here. 

However, there are signs that McCoy should not have returned to the game because he may have suffered a concussion on that play. McCoy's father, Brad, talked to the Cleveland Plain Dealer and said his son doesn't even remember throwing the interception a few plays later that essentially sealed the game for the Steelers.

"He never should've gone back in the game,'' said Brad. "He was basically out (cold) after the hit. You could tell by the ridigity of his body as he laying there. There were a lot of easy symptoms that should've told them he had a concussion. He was nauseated and he didn't know who he was. From what I could see, they didn't test him for a concussion on the sidelines. They looked at his (left) hand.''

Browns coach Pat Shurmur said after the game that McCoy was fine but the Browns PR staff apparently asked reporters not to shine their lights on McCoy in the postgame press conference. Sensitivity to light is a symptom of a concussion.

"After the game, the (public relations staff) made sure Colt's interview was brief and he couldn't face the lights in his press conference,'' said Brad. "The T.V. lights and the Stadium lights were killing him. Why would you say he was fine? That makes it even worse.''

The Browns may have some explaining to do with this one. The league has put in extra measures to avoid players re-entering a game with a concussion but, if McCoy's father (and others) are accurate, they got it wrong on this one.

I suspect the Browns will explain their thinking at some point.