Most NFL players would play Super Bowl with a concussion

NEW YORK, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- An anonymous survey of NFL players by ESPN found that 85 percent of the 320 polled said they would play in the Super Bowl with a concussion.

The survey also found that 60 percent of polled players said the NFL is committed to player safety. The league recently instituted several rule changes designed to eliminate hits on defenseless players.

"We are competitors. We want to go out there and entertain. That's all we are. We're entertainers. Guys want to go out there," said safety Bernard Pollard. "They don't want to let themselves down. They don't want to let their teammates down. They want to go out there and play, not thinking about, 'OK, what can this affect later on down the line?'"

Pollard played in last year’s Super Bowl as a member of the Baltimore Ravens.

"This is a very violent sport, and you're just not going to cut down on that," Pollard said. "You've got guys that are coming up every year that are bigger, stronger, faster, quicker. You're not going to stop these hard hits."

Washington Redskins linebacker London Fletcher has never missed a game during his 16 seasons in the NFL. When he was asked about the survey he responded, "Did 100 percent say yes?"

"If it's something where I'm having just a few symptoms and can hide it from the trainer, then yeah, I would do it," Fletcher said. "With some of them, you get in a game and you can't play."

Green Bay Packers rookie running back Eddie Lacy was forced to miss a game in the 2013 season with a concussion. "It depends on if I was able to focus," Lacy said. "Then I would probably play or go back in. But that's a serious injury to play with, so I probably wouldn't chance it."

Even though so few players feel the league is committed to their safety, some players do feel the NFL is headed in the right direction when it comes to concussions.

"They took tremendous steps toward the future of this game as far as violent hits, as far as protecting defenseless players, as far as concussion protocol," said Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo. "I'm proud of the way they handle concussions. I'm proud of the way the NFL is going."