Patrick Mahomes left Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns and entered the NFL’s concussion protocol, but it is possible the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback never actually suffered a concussion.
Mahomes was immediately placed in the concussion protocol after he was unsteady on his feet following a hit in the third quarter. It initially looked like his head bounced off the turf, but replays showed Browns linebacker Mack Wilson had Mahomes around the neck as he dragged him to the ground. You can see the video of the play here.
According to a report from Carrington Harrison of 610 Sports in KC, Mahomes has passed all of his concussion tests since Sunday night and the belief is he actually tweaked a nerve in his neck.
A source has told me
“Patrick passed all of his tests last night. He didn’t actually hit his head, there was a nerve in his neck that got tweaked that made him out of it. He’s getting testing done on his neck/nerve today but did clear all tests last night.” @610SportsKC
— Carrington Harrison (@cdotharrison) January 18, 2021
FOX’s Jay Glazer said after Kansas City’s 22-17 win that Mahomes was more or less choked out rather than hitting his head. The reigning Super Bowl MVP even tried to get back into the game after passing some initial concussion tests.
All of that could be good news for the Chiefs. While a neck injury that nearly left Mahomes unconscious deserves its own level of attention, he has a better chance of playing against the Buffalo Bills next weekend if he avoided a concussion. He’ll still have to pass all of the relevant tests, but that shouldn’t be a problem if he didn’t actually suffer a concussion.
