If Brock Purdy suffered another concussion today, the NFL would be in chaos

49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, six days after suffering a concussion Monday night in Minnesota. He has obtained all the appropriate and required clearances, both from the team doctors and from an independent neurologist.

So he’s good to go. Ready to roll. The proverb is also suitable.

If he suffers another concussion today, the NFL will remove something smelly from his shoe.

Although it would be a separate injury, the obvious protest would be that he should not have been allowed to play. Last year, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa played Thursday night and ended up leaving on a stretcher, four days after a “back injury” left him walking wobbly. The reaction was sudden and intense.

The obvious difference in this case comes from the fact that Purdy was correctly diagnosed with a concussion. He cleared the protocol, eventually receiving the blessing of a neurologist not affiliated with either team.

Of course, the neurologist is affiliated with the league. The league has a clear interest in having Purdy play in what is arguably the biggest game of the day, Bengals at 49ers, at 4:25 PM ET on CBS.

The NFL has described it as The No. 1 overall pick versus Mr. Irrelevant. This pitch would have been even more irrelevant than Purdy’s, if Purdy hadn’t played.

The word “independent” just means independence from the player’s team, which was directly biased in favor of allowing the player to play. It’s not independence from the broader NFL apparatus.

This does not imply that any pressure was put on the independent neurologist to acquit Purdy; It is merely an acknowledgment of basic facts. The league does not select a neurologist from the phone book with a one-time request to evaluate a single player. There is an ongoing relationship there, and it is impossible to separate the neurologist’s desire to maintain that relationship from the broader process of whether discretion will be exercised in favor of stopping the match, or whether caution will be unheeded.

Was it a coincidence that after Tua suffered a concussion on Thursday night in 2022, only one player (Kenny Pickett) was allowed to return from the concussion without missing at least one game? Is it a coincidence that with no league-wide concussion controversy (yet) this year, a player like Purdy got a ticket to play after just six days?

One thing is clear. The NFL would already face its first concussion controversy in 2023 if Purdy suffers another concussion today.