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(Top photo of Brandin Cooks: Ric Tapia / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
By Rich Hammond | The Athletic
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Brandin Cooks has started 28 NFL games since the beginning of February 2018. Four of them ended with Cooks being diagnosed with a concussion.
That’s a staggering percentage. Serious questions would be asked if a player suffered ankle injuries that frequently. Or back, or shoulder or knee. That many injuries, in that short of a time period, to one body part is not normal. Cooks’ issue involves his brain, and isn’t that supposed to be cause for more caution?
There’s something a little uncomfortable about Rams practice this week. Cooks, a four-time 1,000-yard receiver, apparently has sufficiently recovered from the concussion he suffered in the Oct. 27 game against Cincinnati and is on track to play in a huge Monday night game against the Baltimore Ravens.
But should Cooks play? Is he risking his long-term health? Shouldn’t everyone who watches the Rams be concerned that Cooks is going to take another big hit and miss more time, or worse?
“It’s one of those things that I’m taking game by game but no, I don’t think you should be concerned, because I’m not,” Cooks said after Thursday’s practice.
Cooks was assertive — even politely defiant — when he spoke for the first time since his latest concussion. No, he isn’t worried. No, he’s not thinking about the possibility of another one. No, he didn’t have anyone — family, friends, teammates — in his ear, urging him to step away.
Cooks recently visited with a specialist in Pittsburgh, and while he understandably declined to go into specifics regarding his health, he said he was encouraged by what he and his wife heard. In so many words, Cooks indicated he had been told that he isn’t at any great risk and that he shouldn’t be worried about the frequency of his concussions.
“To be very honest with you, it was not really concerning at all,” Cooks said. “I understand it’s one of the things that is a part of the game, but at the end of the day, what’s going through my mind is, ‘OK, let’s get some answers and figure out what’s going on.’ It’s a blessing that I don’t ever have symptoms afterward, but it’s one of those things that’s a case-by-case thing. Mine is very unique. I’m grateful to be able to go get answers.”
Credit Cooks for taking an extra step by consulting with a specialist. And to be clear, nobody is doing anything wrong here. Cooks and the Rams have followed established protocol for dealing with concussions. He has been cleared and by all accounts is asymptomatic. Cooks is, as far as everyone knows, no more likely to suffer a concussion this week (or next week or next month) than any other football player in the country. Everyone seems to agree that Cooks can play, and he wants nothing more than to return. So he will.
But even independent from Cooks’ issue, there’s something of a helpless feeling when it comes to NFL players and concussions. With every new report about long-term health implications, fans cringe and some turn away from the sport. A few conscientious players retire early. The league takes steps, seemingly every year, to make games safer.
Yet in the micro, the cycle continues. A player suffers a concussion, goes through protocol, is medically cleared by an independent doctor and expresses his desire to get back on the field. The player returns and, too often, suffers another concussion weeks or months later. This has been Cooks’ life for the past 21 months.
Who is to blame? Anyone? The league has a protocol that it believes keeps players off the field until they are healthy. The Rams aren’t pressuring Cooks to return. They have no real say in the matter. They wait until Cooks is fully evaluated by, and consults with, an independent doctor, and when they’re told he can return, he returns. Imagine the fit that would be thrown by the players’ association if the Rams told Cooks he couldn’t (or shouldn’t) play.
Brandin Cooks has 27 catches for 402 yards and one touchdown this season. (Gary A. Vasquez / USA TODAY Sports)
So unless something goes wrong when the Rams return Saturday for their final practice, Cooks will play Monday, 29 days after the fifth documented concussion of his career. That’s a long break for Cooks, given his history.
- Dec. 9, 2015: Cooks sustained his first NFL-documented concussion with New Orleans. He was cleared and did not miss a game.
- Feb. 4, 2018: Cooks’ second concussion came during the second quarter of the Super Bowl with New England. He did not return to that game and was traded to the Rams two months later, with no apparent concerns.
- Oct. 7, 2018: Cooks’ third concussion came in a Week 5 game against Seattle. Soon after, coach Sean McVay declared Cooks to be “symptom-free quickly after the game.” Cooks did not miss a game.
- Oct. 3, 2019: Cooks’ fourth concussion came in a Week 5 game against Seattle. The next day, McVay said Cooks was “asymptomatic,” and Cooks did not miss a game.
- Oct. 27, 2019: Just two weeks after his return, Cooks suffered his fifth concussion in a Week 8 game against Cincinnati. This time, he did not make a quick return, and after the ensuing bye week, he flew to Pittsburgh to consult with a specialist. Cooks returned to limited practice action shortly thereafter.
Cooks was definitive about one thing. Asked whether he considered stepping away from the game after last month’s second concussion, he didn’t wait for the question to reach a conclusion.
“Absolutely not,” he said. “No doubt about it. When it happened, that never went through my mind. Even now, it’s not going through my mind. I’m just grateful for a great team around me and for me being comfortable to come out here and play.”
Again, there’s no evidence that Cooks is doing anything wrong, and surely doctors know more than reporters or fans. Might Cooks suffer another concussion this week? It’s possible. Might he go weeks (or months or even years) without another concussion? That’s also possible. Perhaps one day, medical advancements will allow doctors to better analyze or predict such things, but that day has not arrived.
Also, Cooks is an adult. He’s able to make decisions for himself, even some that might be risky. He’s not alone. Other people choose to race cars and skydive. If Cooks is making informed decisions about his life and isn’t being coerced into anything, it’s really not anyone’s place to tell him what to do. These are choices to be made by Cooks and his wife.
“That’s who I go home to,” Cooks said. “Seeing her comfortable during those meetings with me (in Pittsburgh) and being at ease, it’s such a blessing. When you go home, that’s who you’re dealing with the most, as far as questions asked. To see her comfortable and see her not as concerned is definitely helpful.”
On a basic level, it’s just difficult to ignore that Cooks is only 26 and just got married last year. He’s in the prime of his life and in the prime of his career, which should continue at a high level for no fewer than five more seasons. Should he be concerned about his long-term health?
“I don’t think he would go back out on the field if he was worried about that,” McVay said. “Football is a physical game and sometimes those collisions are inevitable. You hate that. You never want to see it. That’s the worst part about this game, is seeing any player get injured. You hate that, because of the work these guys put in, but I do think it’s really important that you go out there with a clear mind and just be able to compete to the best of your ability and not have to worry about those types of things.
“I don’t think he would go back out there if he felt like that was on his mind, and I think he’s really champing at the bit, excited to go.”
One problem is that Cooks isn’t a quarterback who can slide at the end of a scramble or throw the ball away to avoid a crushing sack. He’s not a running back who can skip out of bounds after a 12-yard gain. He’s not a defensive player who, for the most part, can determine the point of contact on a big hit.
As a receiver, Cooks is a target in every sense of the word. He has little say in when the ball is coming to him, or where, or the force with which he’s going to be taken to the ground.
All everyone can do is hope for the best. Cooks is confident and ready to play, he is under contract through the 2023 season and the Rams clearly see him as a huge part of their future. Right now, the best-case scenario isn’t a Rams victory over the Ravens.
It’s Cooks on the field, healthy, at the end of the game — win or lose.
