The Chiefs now say Alex Smith didn't have a concussion at all

There was an interesting spin on the concussion, or maybe two concussions, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith seemed to suffer on Sunday.

The Chiefs say they believe he never suffered a concussion.

It’s a strange twist that shows how confusing the concussion issue still is.

On Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, Smith took two huge hits as he was sliding. On the first, he got up and appeared to be unstable on his feet. He went back to the locker room and was examined and allowed to come back to the game. He cleared the concussion protocol, although the Chiefs said he had a cut on his ear. Then later in the game Smith’s head was pushed into the turf on another hit as he slid. He didn’t come back in the game, and the team announced he had a concussion.

But on Monday the Chiefs had head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder speak to the media, and he said the team believes Smith never had a concussion. Burkholder, via BJ Kissel of the Chiefs’ website, said Smith passed the initial five-question test on the sideline. Smith had no symptoms on Monday. Burkholder said Smith would see a neurologist this week to be safe.

The reason Smith was ruled out by the Chiefs, Burkholder said, was because he was in the concussion protocol a second time in the game.

“I trust our medical staff and I trust the NFL system,” Burkholder said, via Kissel.

The other part of the story is both hits seemed dirty. Neither were penalized, and Chiefs coach Andy Reid passed on saying what he thought of them.

“I enjoy my money too much to make a comment on that,” Reid said, according to Kissel.

While it seemed like Smith was concussed, medical professionals feel he wasn’t. It’s not like there’s an X-ray that determines if there’s a concussion, so it leads to speculation. Many on Twitter immediately wondered if Smith, who lost his job with the San Francisco 49ers due to a concussion, could be hiding something. It’s all very unclear, and the NFL’s mishandling of concussions in the past makes everyone skeptical.

But the bottom line is that Smith should be fine for this week’s Chiefs game. Apparently, even though the team announced Sunday he was ruled out with a concussion, he never had a concussion at all.

– – – – – – –

Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
Follow @YahooSchwab