Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said he’s blacked out and lost memory of parts of games after taking hard hits.
The 25-year-old made the scary revelation in an appearance on “The Colin Cowherd Podcast” this week as the NFL comes under scrutiny following high-profile concussion incidents.
“You start to ring a little bit,” Burrow said. “I’ve never had any lasting effects from a concussion. I’ve been hit and forgot the rest of the game before. That’s happened a couple times.”
Burrow had a front-row seat last Thursday when Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa was taken off the field on a stretcher after hitting his head violently on the turf as he was sacked. The hit was especially notable following Tagovailoa’s removal and subsequent return to Sunday’s game despite appearing woozy against the Bills five days earlier.
It’s all part of the risks of the game, Burrow said.
“You’re going to have head injuries,” Burrow said. “You’re going to tear your ACL. You’re going to break your arm. That’s the game that we play. That’s the life that we live.
“You can make all the rules you want to make the game as safe as you possibly can, but there is an inherent risk and danger with the game of football. You have 300-pound men running 20 miles per hour trying to take your head off while you’re standing still trying to ignore it and find receivers that are open.”
Others don’t agree with Burrow’s assessment. Dr. Bennet Omalu, the neurologist who was portrayed by Will Smith in the movie “Concussion,” said Tua should not play football again.
“Go find something else to do,” he said. “Sometimes money is not more valuable than human life. $20 billion is not worth more than your brain.”
Burrow and the Bengals face the Ravens in Week 5, while Tagovailoa has been ruled out as the Dolphins face the Jets.