Justin Fields revealed to teams he has managed epilepsy during his football career, Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com report.
Although Fields was diagnosed with the neurological disorder many years ago, teams became aware of the condition during the pre-draft process. While epilepsy can cause seizures, it is not believed to have impeded Fields’ football career. His bouts with symptoms have become less frequent in recent years, Rapoport and Pelissero note.
Team staffs have discussed treatment plans for Fields, per NFL.com, and whether concussions could place him at greater risk. Fields has not missed games because of epilepsy, which has affected other members of his family. The former Ohio State quarterback has indicated he does not battle seizures, so long as he takes his medication, and NFL.com notes doctors are confident he will move past symptoms. Members of Fields’ family have done so.
Fields is expected to be taken early in the first round. He would not be the only player to go through an NFL career with epilepsy. Hall of Fame guard Alan Faneca, longtime cornerback starter Samari Rolle and former running back Jason Snelling battled it during their careers as well. Rolle missed six games due to the condition in 2007. Epilepsy affects over three million Americans.
My daughter has epilepsy. It is definitely controllable with proper meds that are dialed in to your symptoms. That said, it can’t be great for an epileptic to be consistently hit in the head, even if they are wearing a helmet.
The only limitation on many with this condition is that they can’t do things that would be dangerous if they pass out – like sky diving or rock climbing. Some people have more severe symptoms and are much more dramatically affected by the disease. I’m guessing Fields isn’t one of those people.
Seizures are no joke
Almost had my license revoked before I got them under control. Can affect your life in a lot of ways
I feel bad for him. Hopefully it doesn’t cause a Rodgersesque tumble on draft night.
The condition certainly makes three first round picks plus day two change trade for the #1 pick more enticing. Lawrence will probably go #1 in any case – if the Jaguars get cold feet, there are good offers out there.
Why would the Jaguars get cold feet about Lawrence? I believe you have your QBs mixed up.
So Lawrence won’t go #1 cause Fields has epilepsy?
Lawrence’s recent comments about he loves to live a balanced life has fans and executives concerned about his commitment to football. Hence the potential cold foot.
God forbid a football player has other interests
Only a fool of a GM and HC would pass on Trevor Lawrence. I don’t think Urban Meyer is a fool. I don’t think the Jags GM is that dumb.
Hopefully teams will educate themselves about the condition (the effect of it on him, specifically) before the draft and this won’t be used as a strike against him. If it hasn’t been an issue through high school and/or college, I don’t think it should be much of a concern.
id imagine most wise organizations already know about this. epilepsy isnt terribly uncommon.
high school and college weren’t risking millions in compensation on this gamble. it is a concern whether you think so or not. that being said, his skills encourage the gamble
I am not an expert on the condition but it seems to me that hits to the head would be a real issue. I’d hate to see the young man lose his health.
along side players like Lyle Alzado gobbling down handfuls of steroids
Possibly literally gobbling, in Alzado’s case.
People saying it’s not serious have clearly never heard if Grover Cleveland Alexander
Nothing like using a player in a completely different sport from 100 years ago to make your point haha
The people that are mentioned that suffered with seizures were not a focal point of the team and did not get hit a lot. When was the last time you saw an offensive line man get tackled multiple times a game. You can say that Jason Snelling was a running back but he started 6 games in a 7 year career and in those 7 years touched the ball less than 550 times a year.
I dont want to hinder him but if you have a potential franchise altering pick (ie trade 3 1st round picks for em) is he the guy you put at one of the most important positions in football.
Legit offensive linemen run there head into a defensive lineman every play they r on the field….
So what you are saying is if you kneel down and run into a stationary object about a foot in front of you … it is the same as someone that has a head of steam from 10ft+ away hitting a stationary target and spearing to the ground with them falling on you or maybe getting squished between two 300+ lbs lineman?
The game is dangerous at such a high level regardless of what position you play. Several linemen on both sides of the ball were determined to have had CTE after they died. Joe Webster and Junior Seau come to mind. Spinal cord injuries for linemen happen, too. Mike Utley and Dennis Byrd, who died years ago in a car accident not long after he was able to fully walk again, come to mind. They don’t diagnose it before death, but several who are still alive are believed to be suffering from CTE. Several have brought it up regarding OJ. I met Mark Gastineau a couple years ago. He looked OK at the time, but I know he has had health issues. I believe I read he was trying to teach kids how to tackle the right way because he didn’t during his career and he believes it’s responsible for his condition now.
Can Fields have a successful career and remain healthy? Sure, but the risk is there, especially since he comes in with a known neurological condition. By the way, it’s interesting that Samari Rolle’s cousin, Myron Rolle, retired from the NFL to focus on medicine and is now a top neurosurgeon. Others have retired fairly early in their careers in recent years after the dangers of concussions came to light.
Josh Kline’s two concussions in 2019 are likely why he remains a free agent to this day, more than a year after the Vikings cut him. And fellow ex-Vikings guard Brent Boyd has testified in front of Congress three times about concussions and traumatic brain injuries, including his own struggles with the former.
‘Cuz nothin’ says surefire NFL success like an OSU QB.
It really sucks for Fields, because it’s out of his control, but I can’t see this not affecting his stock.
GMs may feel for him and feel like epilepsy won’t hurt him, but they know there’s a slight chance that Fields could miss games or have a complication. That probably will not happen, but probably is not certainly, and if a GM is weighing a two guys as almost even and needs to decide, chances are he is taking the one without epilepsy. GMs mean to minimize risk and the unknown as much as possible, so as unfair as this is to Fields, it will certainly be a factor for many (if not most) teams. Or, rather, already has been a factor, since the teams knew about it. This doesn’t mean that he won’t be picked, just that he likely won’t be picked as highly as if he didn’t have epilepsy.
As far as where Fields’ ultimate draft slide ends up, I’d say that it may not be a bad thing. Whatever GM picks him up is going to be thrilled that he got him where he did, because Fields may not have been available otherwise. And sliding to the right team may be up better for him overall than being picked higher for the sake of being picked higher. Aaron Rodgers has likely ended up with a better career in Green Bay than he would have had in San Fran, even if his troubles today aren’t the best illustration of that. Roethlisberger slid to a team that had enough patience to allow him to grow into his starting role and support him on his way to three Super Bowl appearances. Going high isn’t always the best for your career, so this could be a blessing in disguise.
Wonder if opposing teams will use lots of flashing lights for his games?
Fields will tumble due to this revelation.
With the 15th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots select …
With all the flashing lights, fireworks, and scoreboard animations used currently in nfl games would this be a potential issue for him? I’m somewhat naive to the triggers of epileptic seizures so this is a serious question. The stadium graphics and displays used today get more sophisticated all the time and are more often used now than in the past. The past players afflicted like Rolle and Faneca, who retired just 10 or so years ago weren’t as exposed as current players to the amped up displays used now. That combined with obvious head shots makes me wonder what the conditions would be like for a player today.