Jets’ Qwan’tez Stiggers Enters Concussion Protocol After Practice Collapse
Qwan’tez Stiggers is now in the NFL’s concussion protocol, Jets head coach Aaron Glenn confirmed Wednesday, two days after the cornerback collapsed during a joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The update gives New York a clearer picture of what sidelined the 24-year-old, a day after he was rushed to a hospital and released the same night.
Stiggers went down on the sideline after a play during Tuesday’s practice in Florham Park, New Jersey. Medical staff attended to him for roughly 10 minutes, administered an IV on the field, and loaded him onto a stretcher before an ambulance carried him away. Both teams took a knee as trainers worked, and the usually chippy joint session — which had already featured four fights — went silent.
Glenn said he didn’t see the moment Stiggers went down, since he was working on an adjacent field, but he addressed reporters immediately after practice with an early, cautiously positive update. “He came to the sideline and he just passed out,” Glenn said, via ESPN. “For the most part, he was good.”
The Jets announced Tuesday night that Stiggers had been released from the hospital and was recovering at home, a development first reported by Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. At that point, the team had not detailed what caused the collapse.
That changed Wednesday. Beat writer Dennis Waszak Jr. reported that Glenn confirmed Stiggers is now working through concussion protocol, and the coach sounded optimistic about the path forward. Waszak posted on X: “Update: Aaron Glenn says that Stiggers is in the concussion protocol today and he should be fine” — https://x.com/DWAZ73/status/2087576581099127196. NFL.com separately confirmed the protocol placement in its Wednesday news roundup, noting Stiggers is doing okay at home.
Concussion protocol is the NFL’s mandated evaluation process for any player showing signs of a head injury. A player has to clear a series of physical and cognitive tests, then get sign-off from an independent neurologist, before he’s allowed back on the field. There’s no fixed timeline — some players clear it in a matter of days, others need weeks — so New York isn’t putting a target date on Stiggers’ return.
Jets defensive tackle Harrison Phillips described the scene as unsettling for everyone watching. “It was really scary,” Phillips said, via ESPN. “It puts a lot of things in perspective. I’m really happy to hear most of the news has been positive, but the knee jerk (reaction) is you’re sitting there thinking, ‘What the f—?’ What’s been shared to us is that things are on the up and up.” Teammates Demario Davis and Andre Cisco gathered players for a prayer circle on the field once Stiggers was moved off.
Where Stiggers Fits for the Jets
Stiggers is entering his third NFL season after an unconventional path to the league. New York took him in the fifth round of the 2024 draft out of the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts, following a stint in the Fan Controlled Football indoor league and a college career at Lane College that ended after his father’s death in a car accident.
Last season was easily his most productive. Stiggers appeared in 15 games, started four, and finished with 27 combined tackles (17 solo), three pass deflections and two fumble recoveries — mostly working as a rotational cornerback and special-teamer. With training camp underway and the preseason opener against Tampa Bay set for Friday, Stiggers had been competing for a bigger role in New York’s secondary before this scare.
For now, the Jets are treating his health as the only priority. No corresponding roster move has been announced, and the team has given no indication of when Stiggers might return to practice.
