Are concussions worth the risk? Next generation will decide
Scouts must now reckon with potential for a player’s pre-emptive retirement
CHICAGO — On a scaleddown football field in the heart of Chicago’s Grant Park, 6-foot-3, 294-pound defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche and two dozen other NFL superstars-inwaiting are teaching nearly 100 shrieking, gyrating boys and girls that football is a fun — and safe — game.
Pharrell’s “Happy” blares over loudspeakers on the eve of the NFL draft, a three-day event that will transform 31 first-round picks into millionaires and dozens of other later-round selections into very wealthy young men.
But for these draft prospects seeking a spot on a 53-man NFL roster, putting personal safety first isn’t so easy. And that’s a price they’re willing to pay.
“At the end of the day, the game is a dangerous game. It’s a collision,” Nkemdiche said after the 6- to 14-year-olds taking part in the NFL’s youth football clinic finished their running, catching and tackling drills, posed for a group selfie and headed for home. “You want to do everything you can do to protect yourself and be on the line at the same time. You want to still be aggressive and still be a monster, but there’s ways to do it in a safer manner. It’s kind of like a paradox.”
Just over a year ago, the NFL
was shaken by the retirement of one of its brightest young defensive stars, San Francisco linebacker Chris Borland, who announced in March 2015 that he was giving up football at the age of 24. He cited concerns about his long-term health following the third concussion of his career. He was followed last month by A.J. Tarpley, 23, a Stanford linebacker who played one season with the Buffalo Bills. A handful of others