The Redskins' tight end Chris Cooley has been one of the few bright spots for those who've been interested in the team during the deplorable Dan Snyder era. He's good at his job, he's funny and personable, he has a colorful "back story," and he's extra popular in our household because he looks like one of our relatives. He's always making appearances, including for an hour each week on the local sports-talk radio show.

Cooley missed most of the (disastrous) season last year with a bad leg fracture, and yesterday he was one of the too-large number of NFLers to have a concussion; he played on for a while but was then pulled from the game against the Colts. The injury may have come on this play (AP photo, source here):

Cooley did his regular Monday stint on the LaVar & Dukes radio show this afternoon. I found the few minutes where he talked about being hurt to be surprisingly moving--and on the whole depressing. As a fan, I love to see Cooley play, because he breaks tackles and figures out ways to get in the clear, and of course he makes the team better. So I want him to get back out there. But in the five-minute segment you can get from this link, or by clicking the player widget below, you will hear someone working through, in real time, the balance between his he-man sports career of the moment and the damage he knows he could be doing to himself. It reminds me of news footage of injured soldiers about to go back to the front--knowing what they're in for but not wanting to let their unit down.