Despite quarterback Alex Smith’s head bouncing off the rock-hard Lucas Oil Stadium turf twice on Sunday — a surface one player compared to concrete after the Chiefs’ 30-14 victory over the Indianapolis Colts — the Chiefs’ head athletic trainer said Monday that he doesn’t believe Smith has a concussion.
“We don’t think that in either episode he had a concussion,” head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder said of Smith, who will continue to undergo testing this week. “I know there was some confusion yesterday.”
Burkholder cited a breakdown in communication as the reason for the confusion and explained the NFL-mandated concussion protocol.