Teddy Bridgewater lasted one play in the Miami Dolphins’ 40-17 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday.
Bridgewater was taken down by a blitzing Sauce Gardner on his first snap, which resulted in an intentional grounding penalty and a safety. Bridgewater was then taken out of the game as a result of the NFL’s new concussion protocol, with a gameday spotter saying they saw the quarterback exhibit signs of ataxia after the play.
The NFL defines ataxia as “abnormality of balance/stability, motor coordination or dysfunctional speech caused by a neurological issue.” It makes sense that the NFL would be extra careful about concussion protocol, considering the recent situation involving Tua Tagovailoa, but video of the play and aftermath of it raises some questions.
In the video below, you can see Bridgewater get up a little slowly and appear to favor his left arm, but there aren’t really any signs of him being unsteady on his feet.
Bridgewater reportedly passed all of his concussion testing and did not exhibit any symptoms, according to Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel post-game.
Third-stringer Skylar Thompson played the rest of the afternoon in place of Bridgewater, who was filling in for Tagovailoa while the Dolphins’ starter remains in concussion protocol.