Report: NFL's New Concussion Protocols to be Implemented for Week 5 Games

The NFL and NFL Players Association have agreed to implement updated concussion protocols beginning with Sunday's Week 5 matchups, per ESPN's Chris Mortensen.

"Both sides focused on medical condition known as Ataxia - any abnormality of balance/stability, coordination or speech, considered only neurological event, sources said," Mortensen wrote.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed Saturday that changes to the league's concussion protocol were imminent following the head and neck injuries that sent Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to the hospital last week.

Goodell spoke at a fan forum in London ahead of Sunday's Green Bay Packers-New York Giants matchup at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN):

"We understand some of that chatter, but the reality is the protocols are really important. We follow that strictly. We see no indication that that didn't happen in this case. There's an ongoing investigation. We're really focused on doing that. But we're also prepared to make a change or two in the protocols because we think we can actually add another element that would make it even safer."

The NFL Players Association announced Friday that it agreed to changes to the NFL's concussion protocol, per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler:

"Our union has agreed to change the concussion protocols to protect players from returning to play in the case of any similar incident to what we saw on September 25. We would like these changes to go into effect before this weekend's games to immediately protect the players and hope the NFL accepts the change before then as well."

Earlier this week, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported the NFL and NFLPA agreed to make alterations to the concussion protocol. One of the reported changes was to rule out players who exhibit gross motor instability during games.

Teams have seemingly already been more vigilant about head injuries during games over the last week.

Indianapolis Colts running back Nyheim Hines was quickly ruled out of Thursday's game against the Denver Broncos after exhibiting gross motor instability. After taking a hard hit on Indy's opening drive, Hines was unable to stand up and needed to be held up by teammates before medical personnel helped him off the field.

Questions about the NFL's concussion protocol were sparked when Tagovailoa was allowed to return to a Week 3 matchup against the Buffalo Bills after struggling to stay on his feet following a hit in the second quarter.

Tagovailoa and the Dolphins have said he passed concussion tests during that game. However, the NFLPA has since fired the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant that evaluated Tagovailoa during that matchup.

The NFL and NFLPA are still investigating Tagovailoa's concussion evaluation during that game. NFL Chief Medical Officer Dr. Allen Sills told NFL Media's Judy Battista (h/t ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio) that the results would be made public once the investigation concludes.

Calls for changes to the concussion protocol were reignited when Tagovailoa was stretchered off the field and transported to the hospital with head and neck injuries following a scary hit in a Week 4 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals last Thursday.

The veteran signal-caller has since been ruled out indefinitely with a concussion.