Texans receiver Andre Johnson suffered a concussion when Titans safety Bernard Pollard drilled him on Sunday.
Coach Gary Kubiak confirmed today that Johnson had a concussion. He sounded optimistic about Johnson’s chances of playing on Sunday at Baltimore, but he cautioned that Johnson will go through the NFL’s concussion protocol, and the Texans won’t know for sure if Johnson can be cleared until the end of the week.
“He’s doing great,” Kubiak said. “It’ll be an end of the week decision because of the protocol.”
Johnson suffered the concussion on a 21-yard catch late in the fourth quarter. Some of Johnson’s teammates were mad at Pollard and mad at the officials for not flagging Pollard.
“I’ve never seen a more blatant blow to the head,” Texans tight end Owen Daniels told the Houston Chronicle. “A big miss by the officials, especially for a guy like Andre. I know you have to protect every player, especially someone like him.”
Pollard acknowledged after the game that he might get fined for the hit, but he said he thinks defensive players are in a tough position with the NFL’s rules.
“It’s hard for us as defensive players to pick our target, you know, so going high or going low, we ain’t right.” Pollard said. “It was a no call but we will see what the front office has to say.”
Although Pollard led with his shoulder, not his helmet, on the hit, he did strike Johnson in the helmet at a time when Johnson was in a defenseless posture. That likely means Pollard will get his paycheck docked by the league office.