NFL has expedited investigation into Giants' Brian Daboll's potential concussion protocol violation
Giants head coach Brian Daboll reacts against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium on Oct. 9. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The investigation into Giants coach Brian Daboll’s actions while quarterback Jaxson Dart was undergoing an in-game concussion evaluation on Oct. 9 is being “expedited” but has yet to reach any conclusion, according to one of the NFL’s executive vice presidents. The league and its Players Association are jointly looking into the incident.
“I don’t know what ‘soon’ means in this context but we’re making progress,” Jeff Miller, who is in charge of player health and safety initiatives, said at the league’s fall meetings in Manhattan on Tuesday. “I think we’ll let the investigation play out before we reach all the conclusions that are important… When we’re done we’ll share that publicly.”
Depending on the findings, the consequences against Daboll and the Giants could include a fine or loss of a future draft pick.
In the Giants’ win over the Eagles two weeks ago, Dart was taken off the field in the third quarter after he was injured while being tackled. The rookie quarterback was taken to the blue medical tent on the sideline for an evaluation. Daboll was seen trying to get access to that tent – which is clearly prohibited by the protocols – and later yelling at the team’s physician.
Daboll said he was trying to get a timeline for how long the evaluation would take so he knew whether he should call a timeout or not. Giants president and CEO Jon Mara, a member of the league’s health and safety committee, said in a statement at the time that he believed Daboll was “not trying to influence the process in any way.”
Still, he added: “We have protocols in place as a league to ensure player safety, and we need to allow our medical staff to execute those protocols without interference. We understand the situation is under review by the NFL and the NFLPA, and obviously we will cooperate fully.”
NFL says MetLife’s turf is one of safest in the league
Malik Nabers' torn ACL at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 28 rekindled the conversation about the perils of artificial turf in general, and the surface at that facility in particular.
However, Miller said that MetLife Stadium had “one of the lowest injury rates, not just as a synthetic but across the league last year” and that the surface is “playing really well and it has been for a while”
Rule change discussions
Among the potential future rule changes league executive vice president Troy Vincent said have come up at these meetings are adjustments to officiating on the “tush push” plays by the Eagles and others, how offensive pass interference is called, and the possibility of eliminating the onside kick in lieu of a fourth-and-15 or fourth-and-20 offensive play to retain possession.
“It may be time for the membership to revisit things that may be out of the ordinary,” he said.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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