Dan Morgan played just one game last season after suffering his fifth "official" concussion. AP

Morgan is one of the truly good guys in football, a thoughtful interview and a passionate player. He and his wife, Ashleigh, have an almost two-year-old daughter, Lexi, and a three-month-old son, Brady. (Yup, his wife picked the name while watching Brady Quinn play for Notre Dame last year). Morgan and former teammate Will Witherspoon of the St. Louis Rams are co-owners of two doggie day care outlets in Charlotte, operating under the name Club Canine. (In other words, they like dogs).

It's hard not to like Morgan. It's hard not to respect Nowinski. They were not in a dialogue, but it is worth juxtaposing some of their comments.

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Morgan: "I went to Pittsburgh and was tested about two weeks after the opening game last year. Vision tests, memory tests, plus all the medical tests. They told me I was better off not playing any more last year. I couldn't argue with them. I was drained, and I had to assume they had my best interests in mind.

"I went back twice more, the last time in March. The tests are hard, man. I think they would be tough for most people, even if they hadn't had concussion problems. One test, they give you a paper with a bunch of shapes. You look at it, and then they give you a blank paper and you have to draw what you just saw. Not easy. There is a lot on that sheet. But one thing, you can tell when you're not right and you can tell when you're on. I could tell a huge difference from the first time to the third.

"I've had the blurred vision and the headaches in the past. By March, I didn't have any of that. And I did really well on the last round of tests. Right now, I feel great. I feel the best I've felt in a long time.''

Nowinski: "I've never met Dan, but I've read just about everything that he's said publicly. Feeling good is not the barometer you should use with concussions. And it's hard, because it's completely counter-intuitive. As an athlete, you've been conditioned to go with 'feeling good' for your entire life. I don't think Dan has all the knowledge that he should have.

"Damage from concussions is not linear. After my fifth concussion, I felt fine. After my sixth, my life is hell. I can't exercise. I can't raise my heart rate above 120.''

Morgan: "There's this coincidence, where my situation came along with the whole NFL thing. So a lot of people are going to have their opinions on me. I don't get caught up in that. I concentrate on myself and my family. If you have a problem with that, that's on you. Not me.''

Nowinski: "There is a data out there. He should know what he's dealing with. Once you have had concussions, you are in a risk bracket where you are virtually guaranteed to get more concussions. It's like a partially torn ACL. It's going to go, eventually.''

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Morgan's father, also named Dan, is probably his son's closest friend. I first talked to big Dan when his son was at Miami and we talked again last week. "I'd be lying to you if I said I wasn't concerned,'' he said. "I'm watching my son and knowing that one more concussion could be the end of his career.

"But you've got to know my son,'' said the father. "He would play football for free and that's no joke. I remember when he was a kid and I was worried about whether he was too passionate about football or if I was pushing him too hard. I asked him, 'Do you really love football.' He was like, 'Dad, please.' I know this is what he loves. I know he didn't want to go out of the game like that, last year. He wants to go out on his own terms.''

The standard assumption is that Morgan has concluded that one more concussion will close the books on his football career. Nowinski has a ready response for that plan and it's a strong one: "If a guy says, 'One more and I'm ready to walk away,' he's ready to walk away. Now. Because the one more will change your life.''

Morgan has given this plenty of thought. He has talked with his wife and his parents and his older sister. One more and done? "I don't think it's that simple,'' he says. "If it happens, I'm going to have to think long and hard. I'm not saying I wouldn't be finished at that point, I'm just saying that's something I'll have to deal with if it happens.''

As for playing for free, Morgan last winter allowed the Panthers to restructure his contract in such a way that his $2 million roster bonus was converted to a series of playing-time incentives. If he's on the field, he'll get his money. If he's hurt, he won't. (On this matter, Nowinski says, "That makes for a tremendously strong financial disincentive to report a concussion.'').

Morgan has no qualms about the new contract. "I'm a realist. I understand things from the Panthers' perspective. The Panthers' organization has been great to me. They've been loyal and family-oriented. This is where I started. This is where I want to finish.''

And understand this: Even the doctors who have cleared Morgan have made him no promises. Nobody has told him that he won't have brain issues down the line, even if he stops playing today. "Nobody has ever promised me anything,'' says Morgan. "I mean, it's not an exact science. That's what the doctors have told me all along. They're still learning a lot about concussions. Yeah, a lot of guys have had a lot of problems that you're hearing about on the news. But there may be a lot of people out there who have had concussions and aren't having any problems at all. You just don't hear about them.''

That's not a perfect argument. But the underlying truth is valid: The science of concussions is evolving.

The Panthers have played two games; Morgan has played every defensive snap, calling signals, reacting, chasing the ball. He's a serious NFL middle linebacker, a guy who once had an unreal 25 tackles in the Super Bowl against the Patriots. He's probably not quite as fast as he once was (who is?), but as Panthers defensive tackle Mike Rucker says, "Dan is still a guy who will run past you and steal your tackles.''

The NFL is becoming more vigilant about keeping concussed players off the field, through baseline neurological testing. Of course, a player has to tell the team that he's been concussed in order to be re-tested. It would be naïve to think that every player who gets dinged, to the use the parlance of the game, is going to report it to the doctors. And it would be foolish to suggest that Dan Morgan is the only NFL player currently working after multiple concussions. He is just the most public.

And while it's fair to cringe every time he drives the crown of his helmet into a tackle, it's not fair to question his right to do it. Or the time he spent deciding.