KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu remains in the concussion protocol, according to coach Andy Reid.
He was at the Chiefs’ practice facility early Monday to work with the team’s head athletic trainer, Rick Burkholder.
“He’s one of the guys that Rick has seen this morning, our doc,” Reid said. “He’s still in the protocol, he’s still going through it, but he does feel good. We’ll just see how that goes going forward.”
The NFL has multi-phase, return-to-play guidelines that Mathieu must pass before he would be cleared to play in the AFC Championship Game at 2:05 p.m. on Sunday against Cincinnati at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
Mathieu, a two-time All-Pro and two-time Pro Bowl selection in three seasons with the Chiefs, was hurt on the opening drive of the scintillating 42-36 win in the AFC Divisional round against the Buffalo Bills.
He tied for third in the regular season with 76 tackles this season, adding three interceptions and six passes defended.
Kansas City, which lost 34-31 at the Bengals in Week 17, is hosting the conference title game for a record fourth consecutive season thanks to Cincy’s upset win against top-seeded Tennessee on Saturday.
The Chiefs are the No. 2 seed in the AFC and the Bengals are the No. 4 seed.
Reid said he’s not aware of any other injuries from the Buffalo game, but most of the players had yet to report to the facility at the time of his noon press conference.
“I haven’t seen the other guys,” Reid said. “They haven’t been in yet. We have a late check-in today to give the guys a little rest.”
The status of cornerback Rashad Fenton, who has missed the last two games with a back injury, also bears monitoring with another matchup against Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase looming.
Chase set career-highs across the board with 11 catches for 266 yards and three touchdowns in Cincinnati’s win Jan. 2 against Kansas City.
