Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes left his team’s Divisional Round victory over the Cleveland Browns last weekend with a potential concussion. He exited the outing midway through the second half after getting hit hard on a third down run.
Mahomes appeared to stumble a bit as he made his way off the ground and was taken to the locker room, leading many to speculate about him having a serious concussion.
If that did in fact turn out to be the case, Mahomes’ status for this weekend’s AFC Championship Game would suddenly be very much in doubt.
This week, NFL legend Brett Favre sat down with TMZ and issued an ominous warning to Mahomes.
“I played 321 straight games,” he said. “It kind of goes against everything I stood for when I played, but you got to be smart. You’ve got to be smart.”
Favre then drove his point further home by relaying how he feels nowadays about the damage he took once upon a time.
“When you’re in the moment, and you’re young, you’re bulletproof, man,” Favre added. “But, I’m 51 years old and I’m wondering what tomorrow will bring because of concussions more than anything.”
Deshaun Watson is making it no secret where he wants to be traded. https://t.co/OBlAjvKpbQ
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 18, 2021
Beyond just how Mahomes chooses to proceed, Favre views this entire matter as a test for the NFL at large.
“This is a test for the NFL, right now,” he said. “To see a star player in a crucial, crucial game, what will happen with their decision. . . . The protocol’s in place. Let’s see if they follow it.”
That’s one way to celebrate. https://t.co/Z9p1OMzpg2
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 19, 2021
As noted by Chiefs insider Matt McMullen, head coach Andy Reid is currently keeping a close eye on the situation.
“[Mahomes is] in the protocol, and we’ll just follow that and see how he does here in the next couple days,” Reid said.
Kansas City will square off against the Buffalo Bills this Sunday, at 3:40 pm PT. A definitive decision on Mahomes’ status, one way or the other, should come at some point between now and then.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
