A quick primer on concussions and then an attempt to make sense of the Sims situation.
The American Academy of Neurology grades concussions as follows:
Grade 1
Transient confusion with no loss of consciousness. Less than 15 minutes for complete resolution of symptoms. There is all kinds of gray area here. Technically, seeing stars or having your bell rung for a couple of seconds can properly be called a concussion. How significant such an injury is very difficult to determine. If an athlete is known to have suffered a Grade 1 concussion (it is likely that very many go unreported), standard of care allows return to play once all symptoms of altered mental status resolve. These symptoms may include headache, dizziness, nausea, and confusion among others.
Grade 2
Transient confusion with no loss of consciousness. More than 15 minutes until complete resolution of symptoms. Standard of care is removal from play until the player has been free of symptoms for one week.
Grade 3
Loss of consciousness no matter how brief (seconds or more). Standard of care is removal from play until player has been free of symptoms for one week (brief LOC) or minimum two weeks (longer LOC).
Multiple Grade 1 concussions in a short period of time require one week symptom free rest. Multiple Grade 2 concussions require two weeks symptom free rest. Multiple Grade 3 concussion require minimum one month symptom free rest.
Standard of care has become more conservative in recent years with improved recognition and understanding of second impact syndrome. Sustaining another concussion on the heels of the first, even mild concussion, can have devastating consequences, including death.
It's difficult to get any definitive idea of the severity of Sims' concussions via Google search, but both Sims and Bobby Bowden have been quoted has saying that the majority of concussions were "minor" or "not bad". Suggests that Sims had multiple Grade 1 concussions. Sims says he suffered five total concussions. I can only find three by searches. Two within one week during preseason practices of October 2004 that kept him out of one week of practice. And what looks to be a more significant Grade 1 last season (his most recent) during the UVA game, which nearly kept him out of the following week's game vs Duke.
Teams (HS-NFL) just will not take chances with concussions any more. You can be pretty certain that a big time program like FSU and any NFL team is going to have well respected trainers and neurosurgeons on call to clear their athletes. You can also be fairly certain that Sims has had at least one MRI in the past 6 months to reassure NFL teams considering drafting him.
So it appears that Sims has probably not had a major concussion. That said, people who have sustained one concussion are three times as likely to have a second than someone who has never had a concussion. And there is no question that repeated concussions, no matter how mild, will increase the risk of post-concussion syndrome symptoms. Not only does that increase the length of time an athlete will be allowed to return to play, but it significantly impacts long term quality of life if the symptoms do not completely resolve.
Sims is a concussion risk. He may never have another. He may have one in training camp that requires him to sit for a significant length of time. He has apparently changed his tackling style and made equipment modifications to protect himself but it remains to be seen if he will stay healthy.
I have Sims as my #3 LB partly due to concussion history, partly due to his other collegiate injuries, partly due to the relatively weak Detroit DT corps in comparison to GB and MIN. Make no mistake, though, the concussions are an issue. But it's impossible to say whether they are a nuisance or career-threatening.
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Roy Williams has averaged more yards and TD's per game than ALL the WR's from the monster '04 class (Reggie Williams, Evans, Mi. Clayton, Jenkins, Woods, D Henderson, Watts and Colbert)...
well done
Another thing is that NFL type caliber players do hit harder. I've never seen footage of Sims' tackling technique. A correct technique actually decreases the chances of concussions. The problem is that technique on how to tackle is something they teach in high school.
(and I traded to move up to take Sims too) Its a curse 
