Players who continue to stay on the field after suffering a concussion or another head injury has become one of the most widely discussed topics around the league in recent months, and for good reason. Many studies have linked head injuries in professional sports with multiple disorders that manifest themselves at a later point in the athlete’s life.

With that in mind, NFL commisioner Roger Goodell and the league as a whole came out with a series of new guidelines governing the timeline for when players can return to action after having been diagnosed with a head injury earlier today. Here’s a basic rundown of the rules:

“Once removed for the duration of a practice or game, the player should not be considered for return-to-football activities until he is fully asymptomatic, both at rest and after exertion, has a normal neurological examination, normal neuropsychological testing, and has been cleared to return by both his team physician(s) and the independent neurological consultant. A critical element of managing concussions is candid reporting by players of their symptoms following an injury. Accordingly, players are to be encouraged to be candid with team medical staffs and fully disclose any signs or symptoms that may be associated with a concussion.”

- NFL Statement on Return to Play

The new rules fall short of linking the aforementioned brain disorders and head injuries suffered during the course of a NFL contest, but they do mandate that teams take all necessary steps to avoid having a player take the field after suffering a form of head trauma. That alone should help in curbing some of the issues that are now commonplace around the league, such as players having multiple concussions in the course of a season.

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