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The NFL declared Thursday that concussions in practices and games were down 13 percent from 2012 to 2013.

Via the Associated Press, Jeff Miller, the league’s senior vice president of health and safety policy, called the numbers “positive trends.”

Miller said that in the information compiled from team doctors, there was a 23 percent decrease in concussions caused by helmet to helmet contact last season.

That will only embolden the league to continue levying heavy fines, particularly to repeat offenders. Those numbers, on their face, would seem to indicate progress.

The news comes at a time when the league’s concussion settlement with players is up in the air, though both sides remain optimistic it will be approved.