Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes remains in the concussion protocol Tuesday afternoon. by Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. Mahomes left the Chiefs’ Divisional game against the Cleveland Browns in the third quarter after a concussion.
Garafolo was very clear in his message that this is an ongoing process.
GARAFOLO: “Concussions are not sprained ankles. You can not sit here and say, ‘It will take a certain number of weeks or days. You have a time frame for this. ‘So you can’ t really predict a concussion. So if you hear things like ‘Hey, there’s confidence he’s going to play,’ and ‘he looks like he’s going well,’ and all that stuff. “He has no symptoms right now.” Yes. That’s a good thing. But you must continue to go through the protocol, and while we are sitting here now, I can tell you that he is currently still in the concussion protocol, and there are steps to go through. They should increase his physical activity and then see if the symptoms arise from it. It’s part of the process of getting through. So, yes. I hear all the optimism. I hear all the people say he would be good to go Sunday. We do not know for sure, but we will know in the next few days, provided he still does not show any symptoms if it works through this protocol. ”
As Garafolo mentions, there are a five-step process a player must complete in the protocol before returning to the setup.
“Because of the protocol, it’s a decisive point from the coach’s point of view,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said on Monday. “I mean, you don’t have to think about it, you just have to go ahead and make sure you have an answer when he’s there, an answer when he’s not there. I can not tell you from a medical point of view where he is. I mean, I do not know. So it’s their decision and I’m just following it. ”
The Chiefs tackle the Buffalo Bills for the AFC Championship on Sunday at 5:40 p.m. Arrowhead Time. If Mahomes is unable to play, backup Chad Henne is the expected starting quarterback for the Chiefs. Henne completed 6 of 8 passes and scrambled an important 13-year-old in the Chiefs ’division round of 22-17.