K.C.’S Mahomes says ankle will be ready
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Patrick Mahomes says he’s “definitely in a better spot” when it comes to his ailing right ankle than he was for the AFC championship game, and the All-pro quarterback doesn’t expect to be limited by it when he leads the Kansas City Chiefs against the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl.
Mahomes said before Wednesday’s practice at Arizona State’s facility that he continues to get treatment on the ankle, which he hurt in the divisional round against Jacksonville, and that will probably continue up until Sunday’s kickoff.
“You won’t know exactly how it is until you get to game day,” he said. “I mean, I definitely move around better than I was moving last week or two weeks ago. So it’s just trying to continue to get the treatment and the rehab and get it as close to 100 percent and then rely on some adrenaline to let me do a little bit extra when I’m on the field.”
Mahomes hurt the ankle when a Jaguars pass rusher landed on it late in the first quarter. X-rays taken during the game came back negative. He returned in the second half and led the Chiefs to the 27-20 win.
49ers: Quarterback Brock Purdy will undergo surgery on his injured elbow later this month and should be fully recovered by training camp. A person familiar with the decision said Purdy will undergo the surgery on Feb. 22 to repair the torn ligament in his right elbow. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team didn’t announce the decision.
Bills: Damar Hamlin made a brief appearance in Phoenix during Super Bowl week to receive the NFLPA’S Alan Page Community Award. The Buffalo safety received the award at the Phoenix Convention Center on Wednesday, a little more than a month after he went into cardiac arrest and needed to be resuscitated on the field in Cincinnati.
Commanders: Sam Howell is going into offseason workouts as the team’s starting quarterback, coach Ron Rivera said Wednesday. The second-year pro will still have competition along the way, but Rivera’s declaration appears to take the organization out of the running for high-profile veterans such as Aaron Rodgers, Derek Carr or Jimmy Garoppolo,
who was an option last year before the trade for Carson Wentz.
TV: Michael Irvin has been pulled from the remainder of NFL Network’s Super Bowl week coverage after a complaint about Irvin’s behavior in a hotel Sunday night. The Hall of Fame wide receiver went on a Dallas radio station Wednesday and said he was asked by network officials to move to another hotel on Monday after what he described as a brief encounter with a woman. “Michael Irvin will not be part of NFL Network’s Super Bowl LVII week coverage,” NFL Network spokesman Alex Riethmiller said. In interviews with Dallas’ 105.3 The Fan and the Dallas Morning News, Irvin said the conversation with the woman lasted between 45 seconds and one minute. Irvin also said he initially didn’t remember the meeting because “I had a few drinks, to tell you the truth.” Irvin said he did not know the woman and that there was “no sexual wrongdoing.”