DE Ball considered retirement after concussion
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)—Tennessee Titans defensive end Dave Ball(notes) says he
briefly considered retirement after his latest concussion two weeks ago against
Cincinnati.
Ball returned to practice Friday, but won’t play against the Atlanta Falcons
on Sunday because of his third concussion the past two seasons. His season ended
after 11 games last year due to a concussion.
“I thought of that,” he said of retiring. “But I’m not at that point yet.
It would take a couple of more hard knocks before they can knock D. Ball out of
there, right?”
Ball said he is improving, and both he and the Titans expect he should be on
track to play Nov. 27 against Tampa Bay.
“He’s had a history of it, but we’re being safe about it, and it seems like
by next week, he should be available,” Titans coach Mike Munchak said of Ball.
The defensive end said he consulted with doctors and advice he received from
Dr. Gary Solomon at Vanderbilt convinced him that he would be fine to return.
“I talked to Dr. Gary Solomon at Vanderbilt, and his thoughts were that
once your brain has time to reboot after a concussion with no symptoms, and you
can run around and there’s no symptoms and you can take the impact concussion
test on the computer and you’re basically at your baseline,” Ball said. “He
said your brain has rebooted, and you’re cool to go out there again.”
Linebacker Colin McCarthy(notes) missed a second straight day with a knee problem
and will be evaluated Saturday to see if he can play Sunday. He is listed as
questionable along with linebackers Gerald McRath(notes) (hamstring) and Barrett Ruud(notes)
(groin), who both practiced Friday. Receiver Nate Washington(notes) was added to the
injury report with an illness and is probable.