Update: Chiefs S Tyrann Mathieu has officially been cleared to play against the Bengals.
The Kansas City Chiefs have a pair of injured players heading into Sunday’s AFC championship game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Tyrann Mathieu (concussion) and Darrel Williams (toe) were both listed as questionable for the conference championship in the final injury report. After participating in practice in full during the final two days of the practice week, Mathieu has been on track to play, awaiting final clearance from the NFL’s concussion protocol.
The latest report on Mathieu comes from NFL Network’s James Palmer, who tweeted on Saturday evening that the Chiefs expect to have Mathieu for the title game. That’s not exactly the words that fans are hoping to hear, though. What they want to hear is that Mathieu has, “cleared the concussion protocol.” Until you hear those words, there is still a chance that he won’t be able to play.
#chiefs expected to have S Tyrann Mathieu (concussion) tomorrow for the AFC title game per source.
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) January 30, 2022
Williams, who was limited in the final two practices of the week, could be a true game-time decision on Sunday. According to a report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the toe injury feels better and Williams is trending in the right direction. Fowler says Williams intends to play, but the final decision on his status will be up to the Chiefs. Expect Rick Burkholder to have Williams test out the toe pregame and make a decision on the spot.
Chiefs RB Darrel Williams (toe) feels better on the injury this week and has planned to play, per source. Will be up to Chiefs on whether they feel he's ready, but he's been trending up.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) January 29, 2022
Ultimately, both players seem to be moving in the right direction, but still are awaiting final clearance from trainers and doctors.
