Former NFL Team Doctor On Godwin
September 17th, 2020
Dr. David Chao.
A man who spent nearly two decades as an NFL team doctor has weighed in on what he sees from Bucs receiver Chris Godwin’s concussion.
Yesterday, Godwin was placed in concussion protocol, presumably from a hit he received in the loss to the slimy Saints. Though he was available for Zoom interviews on Tuesday (which are a no-no for those in concussion protocol), Godwin, per NFL rules, has to be on the shelf for a minimum of five days. That ends right at Sunday when the Bucs host the Stinking Panthers.
That is not to say Godwin will or won’t suit up for Carolina — just that he would be eligible if he clears all the required hurdles in the concussion protocol.
Dr. David Chao, former head San Diego Chargers physician for some 17 years (yes, they were the San Diego Chargers then), is now sort of an NFL armchair doctor.
To be clear, Chao uses his background as a team doctor and of course his years as a surgeon and sports medicine specialist to offer insight into injuries.
Unless he was given permission by Godwin’s camp, Chao doesn’t have access to Godwin’s medical information and has not interviewed Godwin. Chao doesn’t believe Godwin will be active for Sunday’s game, as he wrote for Outkick.com.
The only slim hope is if it is determined that Godwin never had head injury symptoms at all but was placed in the protocol as an extreme precaution.
In my NFL experience, I have seen players placed in the protocol on game day and then found not to have a concussion, but it would be very unusual for a player placed into the protocol three days after the game to be deemed fine. Also, consider that late-developing symptoms often are associated with multi-week absences before clearance.
And remember, NFL concussion rules are much tighter now than when Chao worked for the Chargers.
Per NFL rules, team officials are not allowed to comment on players in the concussion protocol. So Chao’s insight is likely the only information folks might get on what Godwin’s status.
As Chao mentioned in the linked story, Bucs fans have their fingers crossed this is just a false alarm and a precaution. He was not spotted at practice today, common for a player in concussion protocol.
September 17th, 2020 at 11:51 am
I won’t be worried until Friday if he’s still in concussion protocol tomorrow than I assume he’s not playing which is the right call you can’t mess around with concussions
But on the bright side Mike Evans hasn’t had any issue this week so it looks like he’s back to full strength
And secondly after the Carolina secondary is about as bad as it gets that whole defense is a shell of its former self this year so I think we can live without Godwin this week if need be
If that happens I would expect to see a ton of Scotty Miller and OJ Howard in this game
September 17th, 2020 at 11:54 am
He will be. As Joe stated in the article, a guy placed in concussion protocal has to remain there a minimum of five days.
September 17th, 2020 at 11:56 am
God that senile old man DJ Swearinger I swear to god.
September 17th, 2020 at 12:00 pm
also THEY NEED NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET THESE TE’S INVOLVED MORE.
That is imperative that is more important then running the football is to get the ball to these TE’s more.
September 17th, 2020 at 12:04 pm
Great now Brady will have another excuse….no Godwin and a banged up Evans.Glad they are good for him to use but not others…
September 17th, 2020 at 12:13 pm
“Godwin can separate quickly Hammy Evans cant”
Tom Brady
September 17th, 2020 at 12:25 pm
The sheep should be more worried about ole stale biscuit head then Godwin’s!!!!!!!!!
go bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
September 17th, 2020 at 12:28 pm
What’s going on with Tyler Johnson….is he healthy?
We need to hit our RBs & TEs with short passes all day long……throw to Evans & Miller when necessary.
September 17th, 2020 at 12:31 pm
No.
September 17th, 2020 at 12:52 pm
60% of people with concussions heal within 2 weeks. 80 percent heal within four weeks. Anything beyond is a complex concussion where the person who suffered it could have symptoms for months to years after their initial injury. It one is pushed back to soon they could suffer from a syndrome known as second impact syndrome which in short causes major inflammation on the brain and kills people. I hope Godwin sits this week.
September 17th, 2020 at 1:14 pm
The good thing is that Scotty Miller is playing really well now, and Watson had a strong camp. We do have a little depth at receiver. Admittedly not the same as having a healthy Evans and Godwin, but not total scrubs either. And, if we get the TEs more involved, we should be good to go.
September 17th, 2020 at 1:33 pm
Dang man. You wonder what happened. It sounds like a very unusual occurence for a player to not be in concussion on game day but not till a day or two later.
Sounds like he musta had some wicked headache or some other symptom. Doesnt sound like a good scenario. I hope Chis is OK. Wishing the best. Freaking fantastic player. In my opinion he’s nearly a perfect specimen of a football player. Hope he can get back to 100%.
September 17th, 2020 at 1:59 pm
Oh brother.
September 17th, 2020 at 2:14 pm
dont mess with head injuries, there is no concrete correlation between duration of symptoms and how hard you hit your head.
I was borderline handicapped/mentally disabled for about 8 months after my last concussion, dealing with post-concussion syndrome.
all i did was slip on ice and smack my head on the ground.
September 17th, 2020 at 2:16 pm
Worried about this one… DJ Swearinger is a dirty SOB
September 17th, 2020 at 2:19 pm
ok Mike….bradberry is out of CAR….we should expect Mike Elite instead of mike the tough ghost….
OJ..scotty…Watson…Brate…Fournette…Rojo…still have plenty of weapons…
GO BUCS!!!!
September 17th, 2020 at 3:27 pm
Maybe we should sign T.O
September 17th, 2020 at 3:44 pm
Next man up. Also an opportunity to see whether BA and Leftovers are able to adjust a game plan to their roster’s strengths. If not, and they start to cost us our season, we need to declare them hard-headed relics and get ready to move on.
September 17th, 2020 at 3:46 pm
T.O., freaking sign T.O….let’s get Mr. 5000 back here before the season is lost! HENNY AND HOG…get yo-self some! just a little late day taste!!
September 17th, 2020 at 4:25 pm
Concussions suck, I hope he doesn’t have one.
September 17th, 2020 at 4:30 pm
Figures. Sean Payton got kicked out of the coaching ranks for a year cos of cheating and violent hits. He was doing plenty of it Sunday. Why is he still coaching? Cos he’s a weinner, and that’s the First Commandment in this country.
September 17th, 2020 at 6:18 pm
I’d prefer a more credible medical professional, thanks.
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/columnists/kevin-acee/sd-sp-chao-0106-story.html
September 17th, 2020 at 10:01 pm
3 week vacation for Godwin.