Raiders' Darrius Heyward-Bey on concussion: 'It's all black'

Oakland Raiders WR Darrius Heyward-Bey is on the field today for the first time since suffering a concussion courtesy of a bone-jarring end-zone hit from Pittsburgh Steelers S Ryan Mundy in Week 3.

Clearly the experience left an impression on DHB from more than just a physical standpoint, and he discussed it with NFL Network's Andrea Kremer.

"I don't remember getting hit. I remember motioning down and then looking up for the ball. Then from there, it's all black," said Heyward-Bey, who admitted not being as lucent as he might have seemed while being carted off the field in Oakland.

"I didn't know why I was giving a thumbs up; somebody told me to give the crowd a thumbs up. I'm thinking, 'Ok, thumbs up? Sure.' That's it."

Heyward-Bey said it took nearly a week to feel like himself again.

He now sounds like a man who's reflecting on his mortality ... while trying not to.

"If I start second-guessing what happened when I got hit or it might happen again, I don't think I'll be able to play football the way I want to," he said.

"If somebody told me I couldn't play football or that your concussion was too severe that you couldn't do certain things, maybe I'll feel different. But that's not the case."