According to Hayden Hurst, his season-ending concussion in 2023 didn’t really have to end his season.
That head injury came back on Nov. 9, during the Carolina Panthers’ Week 10 loss to the Chicago Bears. The now-former Panthers tight end wouldn’t play a single snap the rest of the way out, which Hurst said didn’t necessarily have to be the case.
“I had the concussion and for a week after it was a little touch-and-go, but I went to the Mayo Clinic down in Jacksonville, got a second opinion, got full clear bill of health,” Hurst said, via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. “The only reason I sat out as long as I did was just, from the front office, there was really no point. They were 2-15, or 2-13 at the time, so there was really no point in rushing back.”
Carolina ended at a league-worst 2-15 mark. Hurst appeared in nine of those games, totaling 184 yards and a touchdown on 18 receptions.
The former first-rounder would then be released just one season into his three-year, $21.75 million deal.
He has since signed with the Los Angeles Chargers.
