Report: NFL, NFLPA investigating protocol surrounding Roethlisberger's concussion

The NFL and NFLPA are looking into the situation that unfolded Sunday when Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger removed himself from play to be evaluated for a concussion, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.

Roethlisberger missed the final drive of Pittsburgh's loss to the Seattle Seahawks after self-reporting concussion symptoms to the team's training staff.

While the star quarterback doing so can and should be considered a positive, the protocol currently in place is designed to remove players from games long before that becomes necessary.

"It's great that he self-reported," an NFLPA official told Graziano, "but that's not the process we all signed up for."

This marks the second consecutive week in which the league and players' union are looking into the concussion protocol, with the first coming after St. Louis Rams quarterback Case Keenum was allowed to stay in a game following an obvious head injury on Nov. 22.

It remains unclear exactly when Roethlisberger suffered his injury, but he remained on the field for nine plays following a roughing the passer penalty after which he was relatively slow getting to his feet.