Jahvid Best Injury: Is Detroit Lions RB's Career in Jeopardy?

Detroit Lions running back Jahvid Best left with a head injury during the fourth quarter of the team's 25-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. Though he returned to the game briefly after hitting his head on the turf, the Lions confirmed today that he sustained a concussion. Dion Caputi is reporting that the second-year running back is believed to be headed for the injured reserve list, ending his season.

This is a huge deal for the Lions, as it is the fourth concussion Best has suffered in the past two years, and he also dealt with a severe concussion while at Cal. He had already sustained one earlier this year in training camp, so a recurrence wasn't hard to predict. It may be that Best will always have these types of issues, and, if so, his career could be in jeopardy.

So far this season, Best has 390 yards and two touchdowns on 84 carries and has added 287 yards and another score on 27 catches. He has essentially been responsible for Detroit's entire ground game, and even if his season isn't over, you have to believe he'll be sitting out for a while. That means a combination of Maurice Morris, Keiland Williams and Jerome Harrison will take over at running back.

Back to Best. The young man has to sit down and make some hard decisions. Recurring concussions aren't just dangerous to his football career—they could be damaging to his overall health. He is a very talented young man, but he's only 22 years old, and he has a long life ahead of him outside of football.

If he doesn't get put on IR, I expect Best to attempt to come back after at least a few weeks on the sidelines. But if he suffers another concussion, it will be time for the Lions and their running back to sit down and talk about his future and long-term health.

Best's safety needs to come first, and suffering a string of bad concussions so close to each other is a huge red flag.