Holmgren: Colt McCoy wasn’t checked for concussion during game

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Colt McCoy was not checked for a concussion before being sent back out onto the football field after a helmet-to-helmet hit Thursday night, Cleveland Browns President Mike Holmgren said Wednesday.

The team has maintained it followed proper procedure after the helmet-to-helmet hit from Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison that did, in fact, result in a concussion to the Browns quarterback, who returned to the game after missing just two plays.

But Holmgren told reporters that the team’s trainers were busy treating other players and did not see the brutal hit on McCoy. He said the trainers felt McCoy was ‘lucid and talking’ while they were treating him on the field and trainer Joe Sheehan told Coach Pat Shurmur that the quarterback was ‘good to go.’

Holmgren also referred to the team’s medical staff as ‘the best in the NFL.’

He added that McCoy was tested for a concussion by a team doctor in the locker room before returning to Cleveland and did not show any symptoms of a concussion until well after the game.

McCoy was sent home from Wednesday’s practice with a headache. Holmgren said the team is following proper procedure in treating him.

Just what that procedure is may change in the aftermath of McCoy’s concussion. Medical representatives from the NFL and the Players Assn. met with the team’s medical staff Tuesday to investigate how the team handled the situation.

The findings will be reviewed to determine whether any changes in policy or procedure are necessary. Also, if the Browns are found to have not tested McCoy properly for a concussion, the NFLPA could file a grievance on McCoy’s behalf and the league could take action against the club as well.

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-- Chuck Schilken

The Associated Press contributed to this report.