Thursday’s question of the day: Is the NFL doing enough to protect players from injuries?

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Reporters from around the Tribune family tackle the question of the day, then you get a chance to chime in and tell them why they are wrong.

Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times

The league has taken steps to make the game safer by modifying rules, levying fines for dangerous hits, and constantly looking for better equipment. But that’s not enough. I agree with Carson Palmer when he says that, with the way collisions are getting increasingly violent, somebody is going to get killed on the field. Only then, it seems, will the issue move to front and center in the sports world. That’s how it was with heat illness and supplements. Those things only bobbed to the surface in football – not just the NFL, but at all levels – after Minnesota Vikings tackle Korey Stringer died at training camp in 2001. When it comes to dangerous hits, the league needs to suspend players rather than imposing drop-in-the-bucket $10,000 fines on $10-million players. Even that, though, cannot stop in the inevitable. The entire sport will one day have its own bell rung.

Ken Murray, Baltimore Sun

Since the NFL began to get a grip on the scope of head injuries in the past decade, it has taken many positive steps in recognizing, treating and -- with rules changes -- preventing some of those injuries. But it has not gone far enough.

There is no rule that prevents a player with a suspected concussion from returning to the game. Team doctors must quickly evaluate the degree of the potential concussion. If the player understands the system and wants to get back on the field, he can cover his injury with the “right” response, oblivious to the risk involved.

It’s a catch-22 problem. The guy who determines whether a player can return is paid by the team. However much integrity he may have, there’s still a potential appearance of impropriety. Just as unfortunate, the player may feel pressured to return because there’s always somebody waiting to take his job.

Ethan J. Skolnick, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

At some point, you know the risks, and you bear some responsibility. So while the NFL should certainly do what it can to reduce the number of concussions that could lead to permanent brain injuries, and while it seems ludicrous for the commissioner to avoid acknowledging that link, it also seems a stretch to expect the NFL to prevent these injuries entirely. It’s a violent sport, as players from youth leagues to the pros know. Already, the NFL has done much to tweak its rules, by penalizing players for launching themselves at others in vulnerable positions. As long as the NFL is requiring players to use state of the art equipment, it’s hard to see what more they can do, without doing damage to the game as it is meant to be played.