DeVante Parker blasts NFL after officials, concussion spotter fail to flag head injury in Patriots-Cardinals game

In light of the gruesome head injury Tua Tagovailoa suffered, the NFL vowed to update and innovate its concussion protocol measures.

On Monday, however, the league to a major step backwards. In the Patriots vs. Cardinals Monday night matchup, DeVante Parker went down with an apparent head injury. However, the concussion spotter — the person tasked with identifying signs of a concussion — failed to react, meaning Parker lined up for the very next play.

Parker clearly demonstrated symptoms ofataxiawhich “describes poor muscle control that causes clumsy voluntary movements. It may cause difficulty with walking and balance, hand coordination, speech and swallowing, and eye movements.” Such symptoms can often be seen as a result of head trauma.

Tagovailoa’s injury earlier this season prompted the NFL toadd ataxia to the list of “no-go” symptomsthat warrant immediate removal from a game.

If not for the quick thinking of teammate Nelson Agholor, who noticed a dazed Parker returning to the line of scrimmage and gestured for New England’s training staff to get him off the field, it could have been so much worse.

Parker, who was summarily taken out of the game due to Agholor’s efforts and did not return, blasted the league and its officials for failure to act.

MORE:Nelson Agholor stops play after witnessing DeVante Parker concussed

“Get on y’all f— job,” Parker posted on his Instagram story. “Thankful my brother was aware of the situation.”

DeVante Parker speaks out on the NFL’s handling of his head injury (and thanks Nelson Agholor for his help). pic.twitter.com/6iKAK0pYYk

— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) December 13, 2022

Parker posted a similar type of message on Twitter, asking for clarification on why league officials paid such a lax attitude to his fairly apparent symptoms.

Please tell me https://t.co/NyeXMMTtz6

— DeVante Parker (@DeVanteParker11) December 13, 2022

The NFL and NFLPA conducted an investigation into the matter as to why Parker’s injury wasn’t immediately flagged by those on the field.

The NFLPA “initiated an inquiry into why Monday night’s game wasn’t stopped” when Parker “showed concussion symptoms,” ESPN’s Dan Graziano reported.

On Friday, Dec. 23, the NFL and NFLPA released a joint statement indicating there were violations in the way NFL concussion protocols were handled.

An NFL-NFLPA review of the DeVante Parker situation found no violations of concussion protocol. Joint statement: pic.twitter.com/ohIvU656pg

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 23, 2022

Parker remains sidelined and will miss the Patriots’ Week 16 contest vs. the Bengals.

The veteran wideout has 25 catches for 460 yards and a touchdown so far this year, his first since departing Miami after a seven-year stretch with the Dolphins.