Houston Texans head coach Bill O'Brien further defended his team's reaction to a scary scene on Sunday in which quarterback Tom Savage was allowed to return to the field after receiving a concussion.
In the second quarter of Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers, Savage was on the receiving end of a hit that put him on his back and left his hands twitching involuntarily.
There is nothing to see here....Savage has what appears to be a seizure or reaction to a hit returns to game 5 minutes later. Can’t make it up #NFL pic.twitter.com/ONwvvVZM2M
— Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) December 10, 2017
Savage was briefly sidelined but allowed to re-enter the game. After halftime, he was ruled out for the remainder of the contest due to a concussion.
O'Brien said an unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant allowed Savage back in the game.
"(They) made the determination that he was OK. Not me. Obviously the evaluators made the determination to put him back in the game," O'Brien said, according to Sarah Barshop of ESPN.
O'Brien defended his stance again on Monday.
"I'm not passing the buck," he said, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. "I figured he got hit, (I) didn't know he got hit. It's very difficult from where I'm standing to even see he got it. There's no video on the sidelines.
"With the benefit of the video, I never would have allowed the player back in the game and I don't think (trainer) Geoff Kaplan would have let Tom back in the game," he added.
The NFL is reportedly reviewing the handling of Savage in regards to concussion protocol, and the NFLPA announced on Monday that it will also conduct a full review of the events.
O'Brien said he anticipates backup T.J. Yates will start next Sunday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
