The Kansas City Chiefs have had to prepare for Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns without knowing the status of star safety Tyrann Mathieu. Mathieu was placed on the COVID-19 list last week and uncertainty reigned on when he would be activated.
The NFL’s COVID-19 policies are somewhat convoluted including a different set of standards depending on whether or not a player is vaccinated. Teams, generally, do not disclose who is vaccinated or unvaccinated which can lead to confusion and reports that are purely speculation or guesses.
In Mathieu’s case, he had to be activated from the reserve list by Saturday at 4 PM in order to play in Sunday’s game against the Browns. That action was completed in time for him to be eligible for the game:
The #Chiefs activated DB Tyrann Mathieu off the COVID list.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 11, 2021
The first step is completed but Mathieu was listed as questionable for the game. He hasn’t been practicing with the team for almost two weeks and could risk injury returning to football drills for an actual game. While Week 1 against Cleveland is important, Kansas City could be cautious with their star defender:
#Chiefs announce Tyrann Mathieu has been activated from the COVID-19 list. However, sounds like they still want to monitor him before tomorrow. He’s been idle for over a week, so we’ll see what his status winds up being vs. the #Browns.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) September 11, 2021
There is also the lingering question on whether Mathieu was symptomatic during his time away. If he was, a return Sunday could also be very difficult.
We should find out, officially, around 3 PM today on all injuries related to the late afternoon match up including Mathieu, Odell Beckham Jr. (a report is that he will play) and the rest of those questionable for Sunday.