Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow admits there have been games where he has suffered sudden memory loss, adding his voice to the discussion around concussions in the NFL.
The NFL's concussion process has been a hot topic over the past fortnight, following worrying incidents involving Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
Tagovailoa had been cleared of concussion despite appearing shaky on his feet after a heavy hit against the Buffalo Bills a fortnight ago and played out the game, but he was floored by another hefty blow five days later against the Bengals.
That saw him carried off, taken immediately to hospital and diagnosed with concussion. He was ruled out of the Week 5 game against the New York Jets.
The Tagovailoa situation has led to questions about the rigour and accuracy of the league's concussion protocols, while the independent neurologist who cleared the quarterback has since been dismissed.
Burrow, who led the Bengals to Super Bowl LVI last season, revealed his jarring experiences with becoming suddenly forgetful after taking a hit in the NFL.
"I've had some [games] where I don't remember the second half, or I don't remember the entire game, or I know that I got a little dizzy at one point but nothing long-lasting," Burrow told The Colin Cowherd Podcast.
"I've been hit and forgot the rest of the game before. That's happened a couple of times. But I've never had one where I have headaches for like a week and I have symptoms of concussion after the game."
Burrow, who was Tagovailoa's opposing QB when he was carried off on a stretcher last week, added that the risk of concussion was inherent in the game.
"It's scary," Burrow said. "Everybody knows the profession that we do – it's a dangerous game – that's always a possibility. But then when it happens, you kind of collectively hold your breath.
"You can make all the rules you want to make the game as safe as you possibly can, but there's an inherent risk and danger with the game of football.
"You're going to have head injuries. You're going to tear your ACL. You're going to break your arm. That's the game that we play. That's the life that we live. And we get paid handsomely for it.
"I think going into every game, we know what we're getting ourselves into."