The NFL made great jumps to improve the awareness and treatment of on-field concussions. Those efforts have reduced the amount of dangerous early returns from concussions, but haven’t decreased the overall number.
NFL data released Friday revealed that there have been 271 concussions during the 2015 preseason and regular season, the highest since at least 2011. 2014 brought a four-year low of 206, but this season brought a drastic increase.
The majority of these concussions derived from helmet-to-helmet contact, which caused 92 concussions, another four-year high. That’s up from 58 in 2014. Helmet to playing surface contact was the second highest cause of concussions with 23 cases.