Ray Lewis: Injured players have to make 'sacrifices' sometimes

Ravens LB Ray Lewis said that game circumstances can dictate whether a player suffering from a concussion will agree to take himself out of a game.

A debate about how concussed players are treated has raged since Steelers WR Hines Ward questioned QB Ben Roethlisberger for not playing last Sunday as he battled the effects of a concussion.

Lewis told the Baltimore Sun it's a "hard decision" for players to lift themselves:

"You've got to ask yourself what point in the game you're at, what stage of the season you're at, how big is the game? Are you really needed at that point? If you're blowing somebody out, no. If you're fighting to go to (the Super) Bowl, then you've got to suck it up.

"You watch a guy years ago in Terrell Davis, who did the same thing (returned to play for the Broncos in the Super Bowl), went in the game, and the coaches just told him, 'We don't need you to run in this play, but we need you to be in there or they won't even think we're running it.'

"So some sacrifices you do make. Some sacrifices you do make in big games. You saw that one was made, so I think if I had the same decision, I'd do the same thing."

The NFL formalized a new policy last week that requires concussed players to be reviewed by independent doctors and to be asymptomatic before being cleared to return to play.

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(usatoday.com)