People treat these injuries as inconsequential, but with concussions, there are only so many you can get. Being a victim myself of numerous concussions (skateboard business and not always being that careful), the injuries may not seem all that much at first but they add up.
It's definitely not a video game where you simply reset after your QB or other player gets hit too much and isn't as effective. These are real people who eventually require less frequent and smaller hits to receive the same amount of damage that much bigger and more frequent hits rendered in their early years. There's a different level of damage by a solid hit on the same player who is 21 or 22 versus one who is 26 with a few years in, and one who is over 30. There's a reason there are very few QBs who make it into their late-30s producing the same numbers and able to take the same hits. My money is usually on the younger QBs like a Kap on the Niners or or Russell Wilson of the Seahawks than older and much more fragile guys like Peyton or Brady who have both already lost a lot of time due to injury. Sure, being talented is important but in this sport, being able to recover from the violent hits is the other half of the equation.
And yes, the defense are not getting any smaller nor any slower.
