Mahomes practices, but remains in concussion protocol
Saints assistant joins Lions as head coach
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes remained in the NFL’s concussion protocol Wednesday, but practiced in a limited capacity, raising hopes that the reigning Super Bowl MVP can play in Sunday’s AFC title game against Buffalo.
The Chiefs typically breeze through their midweek practice with little contact before ramping things up with their longest workout Thursday, and coach Andy Reid said afterward that fit perfectly with what Mahomes was able to do.
“He’s in the protocol so there’s only certain things he can do,” Reid said, “but he took all the snaps and he feels good. So, I mean, we’re just going to follow this protocol as close as we possibly can.”
There are five steps in the league’s return-to-play protocol: rest until signs and symptoms return to baseline clearance to begin cardio; stretching and balance training with medical oversight; an increase in exercises that includes monitored strength training; the resumption of noncontact football activities; and finally, the player is cleared by team physicians and passes an independent neurological exam, at which point he is cleared to practice and play.
Reid didn’t specify which step Mahomes was in Wednesday, but the work he described coincides with the fourth step. Mahomes was hurt in last Sunday’s 22-17 victory over the Cleveland Browns.
COACHING HIRES: The Detroit Lions landed the coach they coveted from the start of their search by hiring Dan Campbell. The former New Orleans Saints tight ends coach signed his six-year deal Wednesday, one day after the team formally introduced Brad Holmes as its general manager.
While Detroit did make Brad Holmes one of four Black general managers in the NFL earlier this week, the franchise followed a league-wide trend of hiring white head coaches.
The Lions were one of seven teams looking for a head coach during this hiring cycle and so far only the New York Jets did not pick a white man. The Jets hired Robert Saleh, a Muslim American and the son of Lebanese parents.
Philadelphia and Houston, meanwhile, still have an opening for a head coach. The NFL has just four minority coaches: Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin, Washington’s Ron Rivera, Miami’s Brian Flores and Saleh.
RAVENS: NFL teams have a May 3 deadline to exercise the fifth-year option for 2018 firstround picks, quarterback Lamar Jackson included, but coach John Harbaugh indicated Wednesday that an extension with the reigning NFL Most Valuable Player is more a matter of when, and not if.
“I’m very confident that [general manager] Eric [DeCosta] and those guys will do a great job of looking at that,” Harbaugh said at his end-of-season news conference. “Of course, absolutely, we want Lamar to sign a longterm deal and be with us. I’m totally certain that that’s going to happen.