Tony Casillas spent 12 seasons in the trenches as an NFL defensive tackle. Now, years removed from the game, he’s being honest about what that career actually cost him physically.
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“I know certainly through the concussion protocol of not having that back in when we were in my era, I don’t know how many times I had my bell rung,” Casillas said on Just Wondering with Norm, addressing the issue of head injuries. “The protocols [back then], you know, ‘Count to 10 backwards, Who’s the president of the United States? Here’s some smelling salt;’ He’s fine. And you’re back on the field, because that’s the kind of way you dealt with it.
“Looking back at that, obviously physically … the residual effects of it as you get older, it’s real.”
That admission reflects a very different reality than the one players face today. Modern NFL concussion protocol requires players to clear a series of neurological and cognitive evaluations, sometimes over multiple days, before they’re cleared to return.
“And, you know, certainly the concussion issue, the CTE and everything that bothers me. That’s something that you think about, and it’s really something you just try to prevent and just kind of live with it,” he said.
Today, the conversation around CTE, neurodegenerative diseases, and player health is gaining momentum. Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland, who unfortunately passed away aged only 24, had stage 1 CTE. Former Tennessee star Chris Johnson also revealed that he has ALS, joining many NFL players who are dealing with these conditions.
As these players enter these health-sensitive years, the caution is also increasing. Former Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman, who was reported to have suffered 11 concussions in his 12-year-long career, got himself checked for any such conditions. He suffered a serious concussion in the 1993 NFC Championship, which wiped out his memory of that game.
Tony Casillas’ concerns about his long-term health have been documented previously. In 2013, he was among nine former players involved in concussion litigation against the NFL, alleging that they had injuries while playing for the league.
Casillas spent five seasons with the Cowboys across two stints and won Super Bowls XXVII and XXVIII with Dallas. He finished his 166-game NFL career with 23 sacks. Those numbers are proof enough of how aggressive he was as a player.
Casillas was part of the iconic Doomsday Defense of the Cowboys during the 90s. They had a deep defensive line rotation featuring Casillas, Russell Maryland, Leon Lett, Charles Haley, Tony Tolbert, Jimmie Jones, Chad Hennings, and Jim Jeffcoat. The unit was known for its strength and brutality.
His disruptive style showed up long before Dallas, too. At Oklahoma, Casillas racked up 213 career tackles, 40 of them for a loss, and 18 sacks, production that earned him the title of College Defensive Player of the Decade for the entire 1980s.
But that aggression has been known to take its toll on the body, regardless of how many feats one has achieved. For now, Casillas is doing his best by trying to keep fit to prevent health concerns in the future.