Former Seahawk embraces Curley’s concussion clause
Nov 3, 2015, 12:21 PM | Updated: 2:15 pm
The reason Marcus Trufant likes John Curley's idea of a concussion clause is because football players are constantly injured, but feel like they have to fight to get back on the field as soon as possible. Trufant knows what it feels like to get a serious injury on the field, after all, he was knocked out during his time as a Seahawk. (AP)
(AP)
Nine out of 10 football players feel like they have no other option than to play the game, former Seahawks cornerback Marcus Trufant told KIRO Radio’s John Curley. That’s why Trufant bought into Curley’s pitch of the NFL offering a buyout to injured players.
“It would definitely work on the players’ behalf,” Trufant said. “Who knows where your contract would be … If you can leave the game safely, knowing you and your family will be taken care of for a number of years…”
“You don’t have to take it if you don’t want to,” Curley reminded Trufant.
Related: Seahawks say Ricardo Lockette’s neck surgery was ‘successful’
“It would be very hard to sign, but yeah, I think I would have signed it,” Trufant finished.
What Trufant is metaphorically signing is a concussion clause that Curley pitched on Monday. Under his theoretical clause, if a player was injured like Ricardo Lockette was during the game against the Dallas Cowboys, the NFL could offer that player a buyout. It would be a way to give people the option of leaving the game before they are injured further, while giving them a little monetary boost on their way out of the league.
The reason Trufant liked the idea was because football players are constantly injured, but fight to get back on the field as soon as possible. He knows that all too well. Trufant was knocked out by a knee to the head during a game against the Chicago Bears. A large majority of players feel like they have no other option than to play, at least at the time, Trufant explained. Players also don’t often set themselves up for life after football, they are living in the moment.
“Just in general, you feel like you have no other choice and have to do crazy stuff on the field just to keep a job,” Trufant said.
To be clear, it’s the 35-year-old Trufant that supports the idea, Terry Hollimon said.
“You want to look at guys in their 20s,” he continued. “They think they are indestructible.”
Young players might have a concussion on Monday, but they will be vying to play on Sunday.
Even with a hit like the one Lockette took? Curley asked.
Hollimon said players are doing everything they can to play the next game. It’s all they know.
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