Things are getting strange with the quarterback situation in Houston.
Tom Savage started today’s game and played until going down hard on a quarterback sneak. At that point, the referee and medical spotter removed him from the game, and the Texans put Brock Osweiler in.
After a few minutes, the Texans announced that Savage had been evaluated and cleared from the league’s concussion protocol. But Osweiler stayed in the game.
At the end of the first half, coach Bill O’Brien put Savage back in the game for one play, a kneeldown. At the start of the second half, Osweiler was back in at quarterback. Then the Texans announced that Savage was re-evaulated at halftime and does have a concussion after all.
That will raise questions about what kind of evaluation Savage got, and whether O’Brien erred in putting Savage back in the game. Yes, it was just a kneeldown, but still: Players are absolutely not supposed to return to a game after suffering a concussion, under any circumstance. Savage did.
Questions will also be raised about Savage’s availability for the playoffs next week. The Texans benched Osweiler for Savage and don’t want to have to make another change, but they may have no choice.