Nov. 15, 2015; Denver; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver De’Anthony Thomas against the Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Chiefs general manager John Dorsey held an end of season conference call with beat writers Thursday afternoon.
While Dorsey tackled a variety of subjects, one of the first subjects he discussed surrounded wide receiver De’Anthony Thomas, whose status has been shrouded in mystery since the season ended.
“Well, what I would say is, before the Oakland game, he passed the concussion protocol that the NFL sets out here,” Dorsey said, “and then after that was when we as a group decided to place him on non-football Illness status.
“And then with that being said, there are some things that really tie my hands to really go into detail about this. But I just want to reaffirm to you all that I love this kid, he’s a great kid and that’s how we’re going to stand and keep it at right now.”
Thomas suffered a concussion in Week 11 and missed four straight games from Weeks 12-15. He sat out Week 16 with what Chiefs coach Andy Reid called a “personal issue,” and then landed on the non-football illness list for the season finale against the Oakland Raiders.
The Chiefs at the time of placing Thomas on NFI said the move was not related to the concussion.
Thomas, however, tweeted Wednesday night that he was “still trying to recover from my concussion” and immediately followed that tweet with, “it’s not a game.”
Despite what Thomas posted on social media, Dorsey would later reinforce what he stated earlier during the conference call that Thomas passed the tests.
“He has passed the protocol, the NFL protocol of the concussion thing,” the general manager said. “That’s good enough with me because that protocol thing is the best there is in sports. I mean, they take every delicate step because they care about player safety.”
Dorsey said he has been in contact with Thomas since the season ended and believes the second-year pro still loves playing.
The general manager also anticipates Thomas to be available when the Chiefs return from the offseason break.
“I would expect him to be,” Dorsey said. “Right now, he’s still a Chief, so why wouldn’t he be?”
Thomas, the Chiefs’ fourth-round pick of the 2014 NFL Draft, finished the season appearing in 10 games with one start, totaling 140 yards receiving and a touchdown on 17 catches to go along with 34 yards rushing and a touchdown on nine carries.
He contributed 227 punt return yards on 29 attempts and 138 kickoff return yards on six attempts.
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Herbie Teope is the lead Chiefs beat writer for ChiefsDigest.com and The Topeka Capital-Journal. Use the contact page to reach him or find him on Twitter: @HerbieTeope.
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