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Wide receiver Rashee Rice of the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Kansas City Chiefs haven’t been themselves on the field for much of this season, or at least they haven’t played in the fashion to which NFL fans have grown accustomed, and that relative sloppiness may have spilled over onto the sidelines in Week 14.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported Tuesday, December 9 that the Chiefs apparently failed to conduct what he said should have been a standard concussion screening of wide receiver Rashee Rice following a significant collision during Kansas City’s game against the Houston Texans.
Houston safety Jalen Pitre lit Rice up near the end of third quarter in what Florio described as a legal hit. Still, the tackle was violent enough Florio contended it should have triggered the first step in the league’s mandatory concussion protocol.
“Everything about the play raised the commonsense question of whether Rice should be checked for a concussion, from the violent manner in which his body hit the ground to the way his arms moved (possibility indicating the fencing posture) to the placement of his hands on his facemask after he came to a rest,” Florio wrote.
“Per the Chiefs, Rice did not enter the sideline medical tent and it was not reported that Rice was placed into the concussion protocol during the game,” Florio continued. “The NFL has not responded to an inquiry regarding whether a concussion evaluation was ordered for Rice, or whether one was performed.”
Chiefs Could Potentially Face Punishment From NFL for Actions Involving Rashee Rice
GettyQuarterback Jaxson Dart of the New York Giants and former head coach Brian Daboll.
Florio didn’t mention the possibility of any punishments and/or fines for Kansas City, though there is precedent for the league exacting discipline on teams and/or their members for mishandling concussion protocol.
A recent example came when New York Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart left the field of play against the Philadelphia Eagles on October 9 and made his way into the infamous blue tent, where the initial concussion screening takes place.
Former Giants head coach Brian Daboll, whom the team fired later in the season for unrelated cause, looked inside the tent during the screening. New York running back Cam Skattebo actually entered the tent. Both of those actions are against league regulations.
Cameras also caught Daboll on the sidelines yelling at a Giants physician as he attempted to pry Dart’s status from the doctor. Daboll said later he was doing so to inform a decision on a timeout to potentially stall long enough to get Dart back into the game, assuming he cleared protocol, so as not to forfeit a critical third-quarter drive.
The NFL ultimately fined the Giants $200,000, Daboll $100,000 and Skattebo $15,000 for the actions they took.
Chiefs Face Uphill Battle to Make Playoffs Over Last Month of Season
GettyKansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice.
It is unclear if the Chiefs actually broke any rules with the way they handled Rice in the aftermath of the hit. If they did, and the Giants’ situation is a relevant example, it could take the NFL a couple of weeks to issue discipline.
In the meantime, Kansas City (6-7) has to worry about missing the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade following its loss to Houston. The Chiefs now hold just an 11 percent chance to earn a postseason berth, as they sit at No. 10 in the AFC with four games to play.
Without question, the team’s only opportunity is to win out, and even then the Chiefs may still be watching the playoffs from home for the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era.
Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group’s family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible
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