The NFL's concussion protocol, authored and administered jointly with the NFL Players Association, has come under fire in 2017. The most recent criticism came this week, when Houston Texans quarterback Tom Savage returned to Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers after suffering a hit to the head so severe that he displayed apparent signs of what's known as the "fencing response," a classic indication of a brain injury that includes twitching hands.
Known formally as the "Game Day Concussion Diagnosis and Management Protocol," the policy in theory should prevent such health-threatening returns to play.