Burnsed reports Portis suffers occasional lapses in memory, struggles to find words and repeats himself during interviews, which has perhaps contributed to his inability to land a regular gig as an NFL analyst for a major TV network. Portis, who has worked as an analyst for ESPN 980 and handled sideline reporting duties for the Redskins Broadcast Network two years ago, also gets lost driving in familiar places.
In 2013, Portis estimated that he had “more than 10 concussions” during his nine-year playing career, the last seven of which he spent in Washington. “I’d take a play off and then go back in,” Portis told CBS Sports’ Mike Freeman then. “Sometimes when I went back into the game, I still couldn’t see straight. This happened all the time. Sometimes once or twice a game.” Portis told Burnsed he’d sometimes walk off the field with no memory of playing a game, but he rarely sought medical help. “You can’t make the club in the tub,” he said.
Now seven years into retirement, Portis, who filed for bankruptcy in 2015, is eligible to receive benefits from the NFL’s $1 billion concussion settlement. There are awards of up to $5 million for players with ALS diagnoses, up to $3.5 million for players with Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s and up to $1.5 million for players with early dementia. Portis is understandably wary of being evaluated for fear of what the tests might reveal.
“F— that concussion money,” Portis said. “I’m scared. I’m really scared of the results.”