Mitchell Schwartz’s future remains cloudy after season-ending post

If you’re wondering what Mitchell Schwartz is going to do now that the 2020 season is over, the latest post on Instagram from the All-Pro right tackle isn’t going to clear anything up for Kansas City Chiefs fans.

With the conclusion of the Chiefs season coming in the loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV, Schwartz took to social media on Tuesday to express his frustrations for not being able to join his teammates on the field. Ever since the Chiefs win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 6, Schwartz has been sidelined by a back injury that went from a short-term concern to long-term absence when the team finally placed him on injured reserve late in late November.

As Schwartz notes, he’s been accessible on social media ever since his injury yet he’s never broached the subject of how his back is doing. No one has been made privy to the status of his back injury and how things are looking with plenty of rest and rehabilitation. Instead, the right tackle has taken a very private route in the face of 24/7 NFL coverage, which might be a signal in itself.

Perhaps the reason that Schwartz hasn’t shared much of anything is because there’s really not much to share. A player intent on getting healthy enough to play another season could just say so and alleviate any doubts for team or player. On the flip side, a player ready to call it a career could also saw so. It happens every year for myriad players and it will happen sooner or later for Schwartz, too.

Either way, the Chiefs could plan ahead and make the requisite roster moves to respond to Schwartz’s presence or absence.

Instead, what we’re hearing is nothing, which could be the news in itself. Perhaps that means that Schwartz isn’t certain what to do himself. It could be that the pull of being back on the field is too great to so easily wave goodbye. It could also be that doctors simply aren’t sure what to tell Schwartz about the pain he’s experienced and whether furthering his career will make things worse.

It could very well be that the decisions faced by Schwartz are of such magnitude that it’s hard to make the right call without considerable time and distance from an active season that’s still ongoing, when Schwartz is looking out every seven days at what could be or dreaming “if only” sentiments.

For now it’s clear that Schwartz misses the game and that he’s doing whatever it takes for him to feel better. It’s also clear that no one should take his condition lightly, that an All-Pro performer so hungry to get back into the game he loves isn’t going to shy away from playing. The only thing we don’t know is if we should expect to ever see Mitchell Schwartz officially take the field for the Kansas City Chiefs again.

It could be that Schwartz himself is still unsure of that answer.