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Watching football from the comfort of your couch can make it easy to forget just how dangerous the game is, especially when it's played at its highest level. The risk of devastating, life-changing injuries is a reality on every single snap.
The greatest threat in the modern game is concussions, which can cause debilitating illnesses and handicaps long after a player's NFL career is over. More than one former player has committed suicide while suffering from CTE—and in some cases, multiple homicides.
Effects of a significant concussion can be jarring. One example is the emotional breakdown that we witnessed from Carolina Panthers great Luke Kuechly—after he sustained a serious head injury during a Thursday night showcase in 2016. Kuechly would ultimately decide to retire at just 28 years old in order to avoid further brain damage.
More recently, we've also seen Josey Jewell—a former Panthers linebacker—step away from football. Jewell was released in a stunning development last summer as he dealt with lingering concussion symptoms from the campaign prior.
Another potential side effect is nausea and vomiting, which apparently happened to Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn last season—in the team's Monday nighter against the San Francisco 49ers. Horn had another concussion just a few weeks later, when playing against the Los Angeles Rams—forcing him to the sidelines for the final drive of Carolina's wild-card round matchup.
Here's what Horn said about his experience, per Joe Person at The Athletic:
"It was super tough, especially just ’cause the timing, the situation of the game. But that’s one thing you can’t really play with — concussions. San Fran, I had one and was throwing up on the sideline. And then that hit (against the Rams), I felt like kinda the same symptoms coming off of it. So just playing it smart."
While Horn is right that you really shouldn't continue to play with a head injury, a lot of NFL players do exactly that—even hiding their symptoms so that they can stay on the field. The league has gotten a lot better about diagnosing them and protecting players over the years, but it's far from a perfect system—and CTE still represents an existential threat to the traditional way football is played.
Horn recovered from his concussions, playing out the final five contests of the season en route to his second Pro Bowl selection.
Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.
This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers CB Jaycee Horn shares rough details of 2025 concussion
Continue reading...
The greatest threat in the modern game is concussions, which can cause debilitating illnesses and handicaps long after a player's NFL career is over. More than one former player has committed suicide while suffering from CTE—and in some cases, multiple homicides.
Effects of a significant concussion can be jarring. One example is the emotional breakdown that we witnessed from Carolina Panthers great Luke Kuechly—after he sustained a serious head injury during a Thursday night showcase in 2016. Kuechly would ultimately decide to retire at just 28 years old in order to avoid further brain damage.
More recently, we've also seen Josey Jewell—a former Panthers linebacker—step away from football. Jewell was released in a stunning development last summer as he dealt with lingering concussion symptoms from the campaign prior.
Another potential side effect is nausea and vomiting, which apparently happened to Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn last season—in the team's Monday nighter against the San Francisco 49ers. Horn had another concussion just a few weeks later, when playing against the Los Angeles Rams—forcing him to the sidelines for the final drive of Carolina's wild-card round matchup.
Here's what Horn said about his experience, per Joe Person at The Athletic:
"It was super tough, especially just ’cause the timing, the situation of the game. But that’s one thing you can’t really play with — concussions. San Fran, I had one and was throwing up on the sideline. And then that hit (against the Rams), I felt like kinda the same symptoms coming off of it. So just playing it smart."
While Horn is right that you really shouldn't continue to play with a head injury, a lot of NFL players do exactly that—even hiding their symptoms so that they can stay on the field. The league has gotten a lot better about diagnosing them and protecting players over the years, but it's far from a perfect system—and CTE still represents an existential threat to the traditional way football is played.
Horn recovered from his concussions, playing out the final five contests of the season en route to his second Pro Bowl selection.
Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.
This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers CB Jaycee Horn shares rough details of 2025 concussion
Continue reading...
