Patriots wide receiver DeVante Parker was unsteady as he got up after taking a hit while catching a ball in the first half of Monday night’s game, but it looked like play was going to continue as the Patriots rushed to the line to snap the ball because it looked like Parker maybe not have maintained control of the ball through the end of the play.
Teammate Nelson Agholor lined up inside of Parker and began waving his arms in an attempt to bring attention to Parker’s need for medical attention. Agholor also took a knee in an attempt to stop play and the whistle eventually blew. Parker left the game at that point and did not return.
According to multiple reports, the NFL and NFLPA have initiated a review of why the game was not stopped by anyone on the field or by medical personnel on the sideline or concussion spotters once Parker displayed signs of instability when he got back to his feet.
After Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was allowed to return to a game after stumbling while getting to his feet in a September game, the league changed the protocols for removing players from games. It added ataxia — described by the league as the abnormality of balance/stability, motor coordination or dysfunctional speech — as a symptom calling for players to be removed from games.