Lions injury breakdown: Antoine Green concussion video analysis and outlook

With the recent revelation by Brad Holmes that Antoine Green was trending towards winning the X-receiver spot (detailed in the article by Jeff Risdon), let’s review the video of the injury that sidelined this Lions 2023 7th-round pick.

Green suffered a concussion in the 1st preseason game as seen below.

In the video, you can see Green get knocked forcefully down by a Giants defender. Watch his head whiplash when his fall is interrupted by Sione Vaki’s leg. It’s interesting to note that Green’s head never actually hits the ground.

Whiplash can create surprisingly extreme acceleration/deceleration forces due to the physics of the action. For example, the eponymous whip can reach speeds that break the sound barrier of 760 miles per hour. Anyone who has been snapped by a wet towel in a locker room can painfully attest to this effect.

Concussions can be caused by the brain impacting the inside of the skull. The sudden movements of a whiplash can cause this brain impact without the head actually hitting anything. While certainly possible that the initial hit by the Giants player caused the concussion, the whiplash very well may have been the actual cause.

Not only can whiplash cause concussions, but those same extreme forces can injure any part of the neck. Injuries to muscles and ligaments of the neck are likely. Much more seriously, injuries to the spine, nerves, or large blood vessels supplying the brain are possible, albeit unlikely.

The Lions waived Green just four days after the injury, which was surprising because players can usually return to practice within a few days following a concussion. In his press conference after Green’s release, Dan Campbell alluded to concerning “scans” as referenced in this article by Billy Riccette.

“Scans” is a vague term but suggests something abnormal showed up on CT or MRI. A concussion will rarely show anything concerning on these imaging tests, so an abnormal finding could mean a more serious concussion with complications or a significant injury involving the neck area.

Losing Antoine Green may turn out to be the most impactful injury of this preseason, as he was on his way to earning an important role in the WR room. Hopefully, Green can heal from his injury and fulfill the promise he showed in training camp.