Chiefs say QB Alex Smith doesn't have a concussion

Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith didn’t return to Sunday’s victory over the Colts after being taken to be evaluated for a concussion in the third quarter of the game.

It was the second time that Smith was evaluated for a concussion during the game with the first coming in the first quarter and ending with Smith cleared to return to the game. On Monday, however, Chiefs trainer Rick Burkholder said that his failure to return a second time wasn’t because Smith has been diagnosed with a concussion.

Burkholder said, via Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star, that Smith is asymptomatic and that he passed tests on both the sideline and the locker room after the blow to the head at the end of the run in the second half. Burkholder said that the protocol for evaluating Smith worked as it should and that the “only mistake” was him telling a team spokesman that Smith was out with a concussion.

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As the story pointed out, assuming no symptoms develop, that should eliminate concern about Smith’s ability to play against the Jaguars in Week 9.