Two Sundays ago, Patriots left tackle Nate Solder suffered a concussion. This past Sunday, he suffered a head injury. Which has not yet been dubbed a concussion.
Meeting with the media on Wednesday, the always-chatty Bill Belichick declined to use the “C” word. Here’s the relevant portion of the Q&A.
Q: Was Nate Solder diagnosed with a concussion on Sunday?
Belichick: We’ll give our injury report after practice today and update you on that.
Q: If a player does suffer concussions in back-to-back weeks, does it change the protocol at all?
Belichick: Whatever the medical department does, that’s what they do. I’m not a doctor. I don’t really know what the medical procedures are, period. Like I said, we have a deal: they don’t call plays, I don’t play doctor.
[Editor’s note: Thanks for giving us the ultimate out-of-context quote.]
Q: Does it raise concern when a player has that type of injury?
Belichick: Our medical department handles all the injuries.
Per multiple reports, Solder wasn’t at spotted on Wednesday. Which suggests that Solder indeed has a concussion. Which will be made official when the Patriots release their Wednesday injury report.
And not a minute or a second sooner than that.