5 steps to Mahomes’ return
NFL concussion protocol will determine whether he can get back on field
As encouraging as it was to hear that Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was ‘‘doing good’’ after suffering a concussion in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, a lot more needs to happen before he is cleared to play in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday against the Bills.
The NFL doesn’t have a set timetable for when players with concussions can return. Rather, players must complete a five-step, return-to-participation protocol, and there is no skipping steps or doing them halfway. Players can advance to the next step only when they are symptom-free, and it will be an independent neurologist who makes the ultimate call about when someone can practice or play again.
‘‘This is a way of protecting, I think, the player most of all,’’ Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Monday. ‘‘Also protecting the trainer and the doctors who are making the decision. I think it’s a plus all the way around.’’
The first phase involves rest and avoidance of any activities that might increase or aggravate symptoms. If Mahomes is symptom-free after an evaluation, he will be allowed to do some light stretching and what the NFL calls ‘‘light aerobic exercise.’’
If he has no symptoms — including, but not limited to, headaches, sensitivity to light, nausea, double vision and dizziness — Mahomes will move on to the second phase, which is ‘‘aerobic exercise.’’ Riding a stationary bike or running on a treadmill are two of the more common options. He also will be allowed to do dynamic stretching and balance exercises.
All of this has to be done under the direct supervision of the Chiefs’ medical staff.
Next come ‘‘football-specific exercises,’’ which might involve weight-training and conditioning work. A player in this phase is allowed to work with his teammates for 30 minutes or less under ‘‘careful monitoring’’ by medical staff.
If Mahomes can do that without any setbacks, he’ll be allowed to do non-contact football drills, which the NFL describes as ‘‘throwing, catching, running and other position-specific activities.’’
While Mahomes is in the ‘‘football-specific exercise’’ and ‘‘non-contact training drill’’ phases, he will undergo another battery of neurocognitive and balance tests. His results will have to match the baseline each player establishes in preseason testing.
If — and only if — all this occurs, the Chiefs’ team physician will clear him to return to full contact. But to ensure there is no pressure to get Mahomes back on the field too early, an independent neurological consultant who has been preassigned to the team will have to agree he has recovered.
Then and only then will he be able to play against the Bills.
‘‘It’s a no-brainer from the coach’s standpoint,’’ Reid said. ‘‘You don’t have to think about it. It’s [the independent neurologist’s] decision. I just follow it.’’