“If we’re sitting here and I had to choose, would I take a concussion right now or would I want my knee blown out?” New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski asked on Showtime’s Jim Rome Show on April 2. “I’m going to say a concussion.”
Despite growing knowledge of the long term damages concussions can cause to the brain, as well as 24-year-old San Francisco 49ers linebacker Chris Borland’s surprising decision to leave the National Football League due to what he said, being “proactive” about the sport’s inherent risks, Gronkowski’s statement was revealing.
In 2013, Gronkowski suffered both a concussion and an anterior cruciate ligament tear. The ACL tear ended his season and required months of rehabilitation. The concussion did not. It is why the Super Bowl winning tight end has previously said the answer is “obvious.”
University of Oregon offensive lineman Tyler Johnstone disagrees.
“I think for the long term an ACL injury is a little more safe,” Johnstone said. “I want to be around and functioning when I’m 50. I might have some arthritis in my knees, but I’ll be walking and having a sound mind and that matters to me more.”
Johnstone tore his ACL on Dec. 30, 2013 and has not played football since. He missed the entire 2014 season after tearing the same ligament again last August. He had started 26 consecutive games when the initial injury occurred and has spent the last 16 months rehabilitating.
He knows how frustrating the injury can be.
“It sucks,” Johnstone said. “It absolutely sucks.”
On the other hand, a concussion is typically overcome within seven to 10 days. But Johnstone has read about head injuries and it has led him to one conclusion: “The brain is nothing to be messed with.”
Johnstone has been playing football since he was 8-years-old. In high school, he was ranked the 16th best prep offensive tackle in the nation by Rivals.com. After his redshirt freshman season at Oregon, he was named a Freshman All-American.
He has plans to play in the NFL following the 2015 season. But, “if the brain is not something to be messed with,” why continue playing the sport?
For Johnstone, he doesn’t think about it. He acknowledges the strains that football puts on the body.
“You know how good I would feel if I didn’t play football,” he said.
His teammates, Sam Kamp and Andre Yruretagoyena, recently made the decision to cut their collegiate careers short because of injury and health concerns. But, Johnstone has never felt the urge to quit for reasons like that.
The same goes for offensive lineman Matt Pierson who was awarded a scholarship following the 2014 season.
“For me, the reward of playing football vastly outweighs the risks of an injury, like a concussion,” Pierson said. “I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
Pierson’s response is common. He’s aware of the risk, though, which separates the sport from what it used to be.
Oregon defensive backs coach John Neal joked that concussions did not occur when he played in the ’70s and ’80s. Linebackers coach Erik Chinander said, “guys were concussed, but we’d let him go,” in the ’90s.
The landscape has changed. Much of the awareness has to do with the horror stories Johnstone has read about – the ones about former players who’s personalities changed due to repetitive head trauma.
“It’s the most terrifying thing ever,” Johnstone said. “But you just have to do it and take the right precautions to protect yourself.”
Johnstone has never been diagnosed with a concussion, but as an offensive lineman, is asked to bang his head into a defender every single play. The constant hitting can also lead to a concussion and is something Johnstone said, “normal people” do not deal with.
Chris Borland saw the new information on head injuries as warning signs and retired. Johnstone is aware of it, too. He’s just leaning the other way.
“Honestly, that’s probably smart,” Johnstone said. “But I wouldn’t do it.”
Follow Justin Wise on Twitter @JustinFWise