On Thursday night during the first half of the Washington Redskins preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons, tight end Jordan Reed had his helmet knocked off after receiving a hard hit to the dome. He popped up, strutted up the field, and seemed to be fine.
Later, it was announced that Reed had entered the concussion protocol.
The fallout from the hit has been messy, with analysts weighing in on the play and shaming Falcons safety Keanu Neal for lowering his helmet on Reed, especially in the preseason. NBC Sports Trevor Matich went as far as to call it ‘just plain dirty.’
Now it’s time for Neal himself to speak out on the play.
The veteran player likely had no intentions of hurting Reed, as the band of players in the NFL tends to stick together while knowing the serious risk of injury, especially in the preseason. Still, it was an unfortunate outcome, even if neither player had ill-intentions.
