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During the Divisional Round of the playoffs, every Kansas City Chiefs fan’s worst nightmare came true. Facing the prospect of elimination, Patrick Mahomes left the game with an apparent concussion. The Chiefs outlast the Cleveland Browns, however, kicking the can another week down the road. Now, the question is if their star quarterback will be ready for the AFC title game.

While no two concussions are the same, Patrick Mahomes appears to be trending in the right direction. Looking at the Chiefs’ Wednesday injury report, however, reveals some good news about a few other players beyond Mahomes.

Patrick Mahomes finds himself in the NFL concussion protocol

During the first half of the Chiefs’ Divisional Round game against the Cleveland Browns, Patrick Mahomes seemed to be at the peak of his powers. During the third quarter, though, things took a turn for the worst.

On a third and short, Andy Reid called for a speed-option, and Mahomes kept the ball. After being wrestled to the ground by Mack Wilson, though, the quarterback struggled to get back to his feet. He headed to the locker room and was ruled out for the remainder of the game with a concussion.

While there’s still a theory going around that Mahomes suffered something more like a stinger rather than a concussion, the quarterback still has to clear the NFL’s concussion protocol before he’s able to play. That means he needs to pass through five steps of increasing activity, with both the Chiefs and an  Independent Neurological Consultant clearing him to return to full practice.

There was some good news about Patrick Mahomes on Wednesday’s injury report

With the fate of their season hanging on Patrick Mahomes‘ ability to play in the AFC Championship game, Kansas City Chiefs fans everywhere spend the week on pins and needles. If Wednesday’s injury report is anything to go by, though, they can feel cautiously optimistic about their quarterback.

When the injury report was first released, Mahomes was listed as a full participant in practice; that was later amended to “limited participant” since Mahomes is still in concussion protocol.

According to the NFL Network’s Mike Garofolo, the issue arose since Wednesday’s practice “was basically a glorified walkthrough.” In theory, if the team had conducted a standard practice, he would have been a limited participant, prompting the new label.

Regardless of the technicalities, though, Chiefs fans will still be happy to see Mahomes out there. Based on the positive reports from Andy Reid and the fact that the quarterback was able to join his teammates on Wednesday, things certainly seem to be trending in the right direction for Kansas City.

There was more good news on the Kansas City Chiefs’ injury report

Understandably, Patrick Mahomes’ status will steal most of the headlines; with all due respect to Chad Henne, everything the Chiefs do starts with their quarterback. With that being said, though, there’s some additional good news found in Wednesday’s injury report.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Chiefs listed both Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Sammy Watkins as limited participants. While the Chiefs have no shortage of weapons, their presence will give Andy Reid two more toys to play with; Edwards-Helaire would also give Kansas City’s ground game a much-needed boost, with Le’Veon Bell yet to make a significant impact.

Two defensive players—Rashad Fenton and Bashaud Breeland—were also listed as limited participants. Their presence on Sunday would bolster a Chiefs’ secondary that’s been a bit thin for most of the season.

At this point of an NFL season, things are decided by incredibly slim margins; sometimes, injuries and bad breaks are all it takes to ruin an entire year’s work. While there’s a long way to go before Sunday, it looks like the Kansas City Chiefs won’t have any extra obstacles come the AFC Championship.

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Senior Writer, Programmer

Joe Kozlowski

Joe Kozlowski began his career as a sports journalist in 2013 and joined Sportscasting in 2019. He covers the NBA and soccer for Sportscasting, with specialties in legacy NBA players such as Michael Jordan and Premier League club Arsenal. Off the clock, he’s a Kansas City Chiefs fan and a hockey goalie.

Growing up loving Shaquille O’Neal and reading everything he could about the great big men throughout NBA history — likely because he was still tall enough, at least relative to his peers, to play center — he’s continued to love learning about and exploring the historical and story-based sides of the basketball archives.

As for Arsenal, Joe spent a year living in London and latched onto the local support of the club. He’s barely missed a match since, loving Arsene Wenger, enduring the Banter Era, and following along through rebuilds. The Premier League interest developed into a passionate following of the Champions League, Europe’s big five league, and international soccer as a whole when played at the highest level.

Regardless of the sport, Joe is captivated by the stories of athletes beyond the box scores and how they push the envelope — both in terms of what we think a human is capable of accomplishing and how they find new competitive tactics to win.