How long is concussion protocol in the NFL?

In the Divisional Round of the 2020-2021 NFL Playoffs, the league's two most recent MVP's both left their respective games and were placed in concussion protocol. While Lamar Jackson's Baltimore Ravens ultimately lost, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs will be moving on to play the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Conference finals.

Mahomes left Sunday's game late in the second half, and was announced in concussion protocol soon after. While he has seven days between his initial diagnosis and next week's game, the protocol, not Mahomes, will decide if he is able to play.

What is concussion protocol in the NFL?

In 2011, the NFL's Head, Neck and Spine Committee (compromised of NFL-affiliated and independents physicians and scientists) produced a NFL Game Day Concussion Diagnosis and Management Protocol.

According to the National Football League, a player is placed in the protocol if:

• "The player exhibits or reports symptoms or signs suggestive of a concussion or stinger (a nerve pinch injury); or,
• The team Athletic Trainer, booth ATC spotter, team Physician, NFL game official, coach, teammate, sideline Unaffiliated Neurotrauma Consultant (UNC) or booth UNC initiates the protocol."

How long is the concussion protocol?

Every player diagnosed with a concussion must then follow a "Return-To-Participation Protocol" established by the same NFL organization.

The return protocol is broken down into a five-step process that includes:

1. Symptom Limited Activity
2. Aerobic Exercise
3. Football Specific Exercise
4. Club-based non-contact training
5. Full football activity/clearance

To reach "Full football activity," the final step in the return protocol, a player must be cleared by a club physician and examined by the independent Neurological Consultant assigned to the team. Only if both the team and independent physician agree can the player return to practice and game play.

Those placed in the concussion protocol rarely return to practice (unless it was deemed they did not, in fact, have a concussion) in the first practice of the week, and can even be taken out of concussion protocol as late as game day. A player listed as out or limited from practice on mid-week injury reports is merely just in one of the first four steps of concussion protocol, and they are still, potentially, able to play during the following game.