NFL Clears Ravens' Handling of Matt Schaub During Loss vs. Dolphins

Concussions are always a sensitive subject in the NFL, and the league has cleared the Baltimore Ravens after investigating how they dealt with a potential head injury Sunday.

Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun passed along word from a league spokesman, who said the Ravens' medical staff handled the concussion protocol properly as it pertained to quarterback Matt Schaub. Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com originally reported on the investigation on Sunday. 

Schaub hit his head on the turf in the second quarter and clutched his helmet before an official helped him off the ground.

Schaub remained in the game for the rest of the drive (which ended in an interception) and then returned during the next possession. He threw a pick-six on the next series, which turned out to be one of the most important plays of the game.

Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reacted to the development:

Head coach John Harbaugh commented on Schaub’s injury and the process after the game, per Hensley:

"

Our trainer went out right away and talked to him. He said he was fine and he was good and he was clear in whatever the test is they give him. Then we put him through the concussion protocol anyway and he was just screaming that he was fine and he had no issue. But our doctors grabbed him and put him through the protocol and he passed.

"

Schaub didn’t seem particularly concerned with how Baltimore handled the situation, per Hensley. "Doctors looked at me and came over to do their necessary test," he said. "However, everything checked out fine."

While Schaub did throw a pick-six after the hit, it wasn't out of character and wasn't necessarily evidence that he had suffered a concussion. Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk noted the quarterback has thrown a pick-six in six of his last nine starts.

The NFL also investigated how the St. Louis Rams handled the concussion protocol with quarterback Case Keenum during a Week 11 game against the Ravens, but the league did not discipline the Rams.