Panthers Trainers and "Unaffiliated Neurotrauama Consultant" Watched Replay to Determine Cam Newton Wasn't Concussed

Cam Newton took a beating on Thursday night in the Panthers’ season-opening loss to the Denver Broncos. One hit to the head left Newton “writhing on the ground,” as Al Michaels put it. Newton was slow to get up, but was not put through the NFL concussion protocol. Or so we thought! Here’s the official NFL explanation for Cam remaining in the game via ESPN’s Dan Graziano:

"“There was communication between medical personnel on the Carolina sideline, including the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant, and the two independent certified athletic trainer spotters in the booth. During stoppage in play while on-field officials were in the process of administrating penalties, the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant and team physician requested video from the spotters and reviewed the play. They concluded there were no indications of a concussion that would require further evaluation and the removal of the player from the game.”"

Ah, so they looked at a video of Newton being hit in the head and having trouble getting up and determined that he didn’t require further evaluation. What exactly would they have had to see in that video to determine he should be evaluated further? It’s good to know that the NFL takes head injuries so seriously that they don’t even bother directly interacting with a player to make a determination.