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Cleveland Browns cornerback Denzel Ward has no plans to retire from the NFL despite suffering the fifth concussion of his career in early August.
According to Pro Football Talk’s Sharian Williams, Ward isn’t worried about continuing his career and is hopeful that he will be cleared by doctors to play in the Browns’ season opener against the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 8.
Ward suffered the concussion during a one-on-one drill with Elijah Moore at the Browns’ practice on Aug. 12. Both players were wearing guards caps during the drill.
The NFL amended its rules in April to allow players the option to wear guardian caps during regular-season games. The league will require players at certain positions to wear them during training camp in 2022 and 2023. NFL vice president of baseball, Jeff Miller, said the protection of the padded helmets has reduced concussions by about 50 percent in position groups that wear them during training camp.
But Mr Ward said he had no plans to wear a guardian cap in July, despite statistics showing it provides added protection.
“Right now, none,” Ward said last month. “I know I’ve had a couple of concussions, but I don’t think about concussions when I go out there. I’ve done a lot of research during the season and in the offseason about concussions and how to treat them and stuff like that. So I’m not really worried about it when I go out there. When I go out there, I’m just going to play fast, I’m going to play hard and I’m going to try to win the game. It’s not my concern whether I get a concussion or not. You never know what’s going to happen in the game. The game unfolds so fast and I’m not that worried about it.”
It remains to be seen whether his recent concussion will change his mind.
Ward suffered a concussion during last year’s preseason and missed three games with concussions in both 2022 and 2018. Last season, Ward recorded 34 tackles, one forced fumble and two interceptions.