Jermichael Finley recalls last week’s concussion

Green Bay Packers tight end Jermichael Finley (88) is injured on the field against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Pat Lovell-USA TODAY Sports

Green Bay Packers star tight end Jermichael Finley had an excellent first two weeks of the regular season, but he was unfortunately injured too quickly to have a similar impact in last week’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Finley left the game and, unsurprisingly, did not return after taking an absolutely enormous hit from Bengals safety George Iloka. The hit was completely legal, as Iloka led with his shoulder, but it was still a crunching hit that left Finley concussed as he hit the turf.

The Packers are on their bye week, so two key offensive starters in rookie running back Eddie Lacy and TE Jermichael Finley will get a crucial week to recover from the concussions (Lacy, as expected, missed last week’s game against the Bengals after being concussed in Week 2 on a completely illegal hit from miscreant safety Brandon Meriweather). Finley has 11 receptions for 121 yards and two touchdowns through two games this season, and I say two games because that third game against the Bengals shouldn’t count; he was injured far too early to make an impact.

Jermichael Finley spoke with the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s Ty Dunne about last week’s concussion, and he went into incredible detail. It’s crazy how he described the concussion, and that last sentence was definitely chilling (I’ll put it in boldface print).

“When the play was called, I knew it was coming to me. So I got on my horse and I knew I had the linebacker, of course, but didn’t necessarily see the safety all the way. Aaron Rodgers threw the ball, I dove, and after that I felt the hit at my shoulder. Then after all that happened, I was unconscious by then. I watched the film, had a knee to my head, then I had the ground contact. So I guess the ground knocked me out. Then I looked to the sideline and all I saw were jerseys, the yellow pants we wear and I didn’t see any heads or legs. Everybody was decapitated and my body was just on fire.”

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter for more NFL updates and analysis @SorianoJoe. Be sure to like us on Facebook here and follow our site on Twitter as well.