Green says he won't be back for at least next 2 games
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Quarterback Trent Green said Thursday the severe concussion that left him unconscious on Sept. 10 will keep him sidelined at least until after Kansas City's game Oct. 8 against Arizona.
Speaking with Kansas City reporters for the first time since absorbing the head-snapping hit in the season opener, the two-time Pro Bowler appeared to have lost a little weight. He said he's feeling much better and is finally able to drive, and that he might even join the Chiefs on the sideline Sunday in their game at home against San Francisco.
``It's just a day-to-day, week-to-week thing. That is what the doctor told me my last visit last week, to not expect anything other than that,'' he said.
``Everybody handles it differently. Every concussion is different.''
Getting back by Oct. 8, he said, would not ``be reasonable.''
``They're going to want me to practice at least some prior to that point. I know I won't practice this week. It remains to be seen if I'm going to do any next week. So considering by that point in time I will have missed three weeks, to all of a sudden practice and play in one week, that would be reaching.''
No one is putting a timetable on his return. Journeyman backup Damon Huard has been starting in place of Green, whose combined passing yardage for the previous five seasons was exceeded only by Indianapolis' Peyton Manning.
``I told (the doctors), 'When you guys give me the green light, I'm going. You've got to set parameters,''' Green said. ``If you tell me I'm OK to go, then I'm going.''
He has begun doing light work.
``They don't want me to start running or getting into any heavy weight training or anything like that. I have to rely on them and trust them. And I do. I trust them a great deal. But it's hard for me. This is what I do. It's what I've done for the last 13 seasons in the NFL.''
He said he remembers talking to his wife in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, but all memory for about 25 minutes after the hit has been erased.
Only one question in the wide-ranging, 17-minute conversation seemed to rankle him.
In light of the severity of the concussion, had he considered retiring?
``No, I have not. And I've made the point - I'm a very positive person and try and think the best. I don't even want to answer that one. Because the people who have brought it up, I tell them, right now, that's not in my plans.''
Green, who had started 82 straight games, was going into a feet-first hook slide in the second half of the season opener when Cincinnati's Robert Geathers came crashing in and hit him with his right shoulder, violently slamming the back of the quarterback's head to the ground.
The game was delayed about 11 minutes before he was strapped to a gurney and put into an ambulance.
The entire stadium seemed to hold its breath while he lay motionless for more than 10 minutes. But Green had no idea what a frightening scene it had been until his wife described it a week later.
``I just assumed I got knocked out, they put me on a gurney and it was a couple of minutes kind of thing,'' he said. ``Once I found out, then I realized why so many people who were close to me had given me calls.''
Geathers was not penalized, a decision the NFL office upheld.
Green indicated he was not happy about that. He recalled the blow to the knees he absorbed from safety Rodney Harrison in 1999 when he was with St. Louis that led to four operations.
``It took the league six years to overrule that hit. At the time, they didn't fine him or flag him and it took six years for Carson Palmer, Ben Roethlisberger and some other guys to get hit and all of a sudden, 'Hey, we're going to protect the quarterback's knees,''' he said.
``My understanding of the rule is when you begin your slide, that you're giving yourself up. And I was obviously beginning my slide. If you look, there were other Cincinnati players that saw me beginning to slide and avoided the contact. So I think it could have been avoided.''
Geathers and the Bengals said he did not have complete control of his body because he had been pushed from behind by a Kansas City player.
``Is it part of the game? Do I respect the officials' ruling on it? Do I respect the league's ruling on it? Definitely,'' Green said.
``That's their job and that's what they do. It's just something that happens in football. Unfortunately, maybe that will be something that will be addressed by the rules committee.''
