Chiefs’ Mahomes gets back to work
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Patrick Mahomes strolled through Arrowhead Stadium without any issues with his injured right ankle on Thursday, and the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback expects to practice fully in the next 10 days leading up to the Super Bowl.
Mahomes sprained the ankle during the divisional round against Jacksonville, and he was clearly hobbled in last Sunday night’s AFC championship win over Cincinnati. But despite taking a couple of hard shots during that game, and his mad dash in the closing seconds to set up the winning field goal, Mahomes came out of it feeling just fine.
“It was a physical game. My whole body was a little sore. But I don’t think I had any step backward, a reaggravation of the ankle,” Mahomes said. “A little pain playing with it but other than that, I feel like I’m in a good spot.”
The Chiefs sustained a number of other injuries during their 23-20 win over the Bengals, though. They lost three wide receivers – Mecole Hardman reinjured his pelvis, JuJu SmithSchuster had swelling in his knee and Kadarius
Toney sprained his ankle – while cornerback L’Jarius Sneed was in the concussion protocol and Willie Gay Jr. hurt his shoulder.
Gay was the only one that returned to practice on an unseasonably mild February day in Kansas City.
Coach Andy Reid did say that Toney did the morning walk-through and “he’s close and doing well,” while Smith-Schuster “is in a good place. The main thing is we let that calm down. We’re very optimistic right now.”
The news wasn’t as positive for Hardman, who first hurt his abdominal area in November. The Chiefs later began to classify it as a pelvis injury as Hardman neared his return from injured reserve, but he wasn’t able to make it back onto the field until the AFC title game. He was hurt while getting wrapped up after a catch and did not return.
Reid also said there’s a possibility Clyde Edwards-Helaire, their 2020 first-round pick, will be activated for the big game. EdwardsHelaire had already ceded the No. 1 running back job to rookie Isiah Pacheco before a high ankle sprain landed him on IR in November.