Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster is in the concussion protocol after taking a big hit from Jaguars safety Andre Cisco during Sunday’s win and the team isn’t happy that Cisco went unpenalized.
Head coach Andy Reid said he thought Cisco hit Smith-Schuster in the head and that hits like that don’t “need to be in the game.” Quarterback Patrick Mahomes didn’t think Cisco had bad intentions, but that “it is supposed to be a flag” and safety Justin Reid said other teammates were upset by the lack of a flag.
“We were mad,” Justin Reid said, via Adam Teicher of ESPN.com. “I’ve had a lot of big hits and not once have I made helmet-to-helmet contact like that.”
A flag was initially thrown, but it was picked up after a conference. Referee Brad Rogers explained what the officials decided to a pool reporter.
“After discussion on the field, the two officials came in and determined that the defender had set and braced for impact and hit shoulder-to-shoulder,” Rogers said. “They didn’t feel it was use of a helmet foul.”
Cisco could be fined for the hit this week and the Chiefs will have to wait for Smith-Schuster to clear the protocol before he can rejoin the offense.