Austin Collie’s Injury Is A Concussion, Says Jim Caldwell

More good news from Philadelphia: Austin Collie apparently has nothing more than a concussion.

This is according to a tweet from Indianapolis radio host Kevin Lee, who says he spoke with Colts coach Jim Caldwell and was told that Collie has a concussion. Collie remains in the locker room and was earlier reported to be “sitting up and alert.“

Obviously, a concussion isn’t a minor injury, and Collie’s appeared as severe as any suffered by an NFL player this year. But knowing that Collie is seemingly out of the woods as far as paralysis is concerned will likely change the discussion from his status to the officiating of the hit.

Though Kurt Coleman was flagged for an unnecessary roughness penalty for a helmet-to-helmet hit, and the league office has already affirmed that that was the correct call, a groundswell of defense for Coleman’s approach as clean, legal, and unfortunate has already taken place on Twitter.

Steelers safety Ryan Clark, known for his hard hits, especially a very serious one in the 2009 AFC Championship Game on Willis McGahee is the most prominent NFL player to defend Coleman. He tweets:

We can’t flag people because a hit is hard. May God bless Austin Collie but that hit was not illegal. The game is ruined!Clark’s reaction seems a little overblown. But don’t be surprised if it looks mild after another week of vehement disagreement about whether or not the NFL is doing enough to ensure the safety of its players.