Kevin Kolb's Head Injury: Cause For Concern?

Quarterback Kevin Kolb has missed a lot of time this season. He has played only in nine games and in his last one he was in for only three plays against the San Francisco 49ers before leaving with a head injury after three plays. After missing the remainder of the Niners game, he has also missed two more games after that.

While he has been cleared to practice for some time, he is still suffering mild effects of his concussion, like sensitivity to light and loud noises, and inability to put thoughts together easily. Almost three weeks later, it is still uncertain whether he will be able to play against the Seattle Seahawks in the season finale, and this is a little bit concerning.

Kolb suffered a concussion last season as well, which opened the door to Michael Vick, which caused Kolb to lose his starting job and get traded to the Cardinals this past offseason.

Obviously the fact that he has suffered head injuries two consecutive seasons is the reason he and the team and taking things with caution.

However, his extended time off raises some red flags.

For those who happen to follow Arizona State football, they will be reminded of how quarterback Steven Threet suffered a concussion at some point during a game late last season. He did not play the rest of the season and, months later, was still suffering lingering effects of his concussion and decided to retire from football.

A more recent example is Derek Anderson. He suffered a concussion late last season and had lasting effects until almost the end of the season. He recovered and was able to come back this season, albeit as Cam Newton's backup.

It is still too early to say that Kolb is going to be a concussion waiting to happen, but with the time he has missed combined with last season, the team should be concerned, as should Kolb. At this point, he should be seriously looking at his headgear at a minimum. Now knowing which helmet his is and how it rates in preventing head injuries, it is a known fact that as many as 40 percent of all NFL players are using helmets that are inadequate. If anything, he should look at other helmets that are more highly rated.

It may be more worry than needed simply because of having seen what happened to Threet at ASU. However, since the only other QB option the Cards have is a very hot and cold John Skelton, regardless of how you feel about Kolb, you cannot deny the Cardinals need him to succeed.

Do Kolb's now two seasons of concussions cause concern? It certainly is a worry for me.