ESPN interview with Chris BorlandIt's been quiet on the concussion front for the National Football League and its fumbling commissioner Roger Goodell.

America has turned its sports focus to baseball's spring training and the rash of Tommy John surgeries suffered by rebounding New York Mets (Here's the scorecard: No. 1 pitching ace Matt Harvey is back in business this spring after going under the knife, No. 2 Jacob deGrom is fully recovered from his operation, No. 3 ace Zack Wheeler is checking in for his procedure).

NFL's off-season serenity blew up yesterday with the shocking news that San Francisco 49ers linebacker Chris Borland is retiring because of health concerns about head injuries.

Borland, an up and coming star, is a mere 24. The news rocketed from sports sections to the front page of The New York Times.

How concerned is the NFL about such a high-profile retirement from a person who is leaving millions of dollars on the table because he wants to live a long and healthy life?

Very, Very Concerned.

Fortress NFL released a statement yesterday from Jeff Miller, senior VP-health and safety policy, who respects Borland's decision and wishes him the best.

Miller noted that the NFL has made rule changes and that concussions were down 25 percent last year. "By any measure, football has never been safer," he noted.

Those measures apparently weren't enough for Borland, who obviously wasn't satisfied with "safer" working conditions. "Safer" does not mean "safe."

Borland make his announcement on ESPN's "Outside the Lines."

My hunch is that the greatest fear of the NFL's PR department would be for Borland to hook up with a PR firm and become the poster boy of the concussion threat.

Any firm working the Borland case would be providing a valuable public service for NFL players and the thousands of kids playing on football teams throughout the US.

Somebody should take Borland on. The work would be fantastic PR for PR.