Mathis In Concussion Protocol This Week After Hit He Took Against Vikings
By Ashley Scoby
@AshleyScoby
Lions cornerback Rashean Mathis will go into return-to-play protocol for a concussion this week, after a hit that he took two and a half weeks ago against the Vikings.
According to Lions head trainer Kevin Bastin, Mathis was checked for a concussion late in the Vikings game, was cleared, then began showing symptoms after the team traveled to London.
He woke up Thursday morning the week of the London game with "lightheadedness," went through light practices that day and Friday, then was held out of the game against the Chiefs. Still to that point, he had not been diagnosed with a concussion, and was listed on the injury report with an "illness."
When the Lions returned to the U.S., team doctors and an independent neurologist evaluated Mathis again. That independent neurologist finally diagnosed Mathis with a concussion, and put him in the return-to-play protocol this week.
According to Bastin, team doctors did not think Mathis' lightheadedness and headaches in London were associated with a concussion.
"He was ill. He just didn't feel good," Bastin said of why Mathis was held out of the game against the Chiefs.
The NFL's return-to-play protocol requires that players make it through five phases of increased activity, symptom-free. Phase one is not having the initial symptoms. Phase Two is light exercise, Phase Three is a 100-percent-effort cardio routine, Phase Four is going through a no-contact practice and Phase Five is returning to full contact.
Currently, Mathis is in Phase Two of the concussion protocol, according to Bastin.
Mathis serves as an example of how mysterious brain injuries can be, and how they can often be confused for something else, such as illness.
According to Bastin, Mathis was actually examined twice during the Vikings game – once "early" in the game, after which he returned, then a second time "late" in the game, after which he returned to the locker room for further evaluation.
"There's still a lot of unknowns with how they happen," Bastin said. "In my history we've had guys, a couple weeks later, come up with symptoms. You always go back to the possibility it could be from a power blow."