Reports: Patrick Mahomes Is in a Good Spot With Ankle Recovery
When Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes exited the team's Divisional Round game against the Jacksonville Jaguars with a high-ankle sprain, it was unclear whether he'd be able to return. Even when he came back onto the field for the second half, he was struggling to move around on the field and appeared to be in pain all afternoon long. In the hours following the contest, no one was truly sure what his exact status was.
Over the next several days, Mahomes and the Chiefs attacked a rehab plan with consistency and got him healthy enough to play in the AFC Championship Game. While Mahomes was still playing through the pain and not quite his normal self, he still managed to throw for 326 yards and a pair of touchdowns. That gutty performance helped send Kansas City to its third Super Bowl in four years.
All week long leading up to Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles, Mahomes was questioned about his ankle seemingly countless times. In response, he indicated that he was making progress and feeling good ahead of his biggest game of the season, and head coach Andy Reid concurred. Early on Sunday morning, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that Mahomes looked "noticeably better" during this week's practice. Multiple other news sources covered Mahomes's ankle on Sunday — here's the latest on where things stand.
Julie Frymyer details Mahomes's rehab process
After the aforementioned AFC Championship Game win, Mahomes tweeted a special shout-out and tipped his cap to Julie Frymyer, the assistant athletic trainer who designed and helped execute the injury rehab for Mahomes's ankle. That rehab plan has evolved and adapted over time, and the team has worked tirelessly to ensure that its star quarterback is in as good of a spot as possible as it relates to his injury. In a special feature article, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport helped document some of Frymyer's thoughts on the process and how everyone handled this situation:
Mahomes suffered the injury on Jan. 21 against the Jaguars when Arden Key fell on his ankle trying to sack him. X-Rays were negative, but sources say Mahomes suffered a low Grade 2 high ankle sprain. Frymyer would not confirm the grade.
But she did discuss the incredible amount of hours Mahomes spent with her rehabbing.
"He comes in at 6 a.m. and he won't leave until 6:30 p.m.," said the assistant athletic trainer and physical therapist. "A lot of hours. He's in meetings a lot of the time, so he would come in super early, we had to capitalize on the time he had. I'd take some of it up to his QB meeting room so we could keep treating him around the clock. Obviously, we had practice then and getting him back in after, getting him in for treatment, then getting rehab in as well."
This week of practice was different than the previous one
Although Mahomes was a full participant in practice in the days following the Divisional Round, it was pretty clear that things would be at least a little different in terms of how he and the Chiefs handled preparing for the upcoming Bengals game. That ended up being true, as Dianna Russini of ESPN reported on Sunday's edition of SportsCenter that both sides were working together on play-calling tactics in relation to what Mahomes would be comfortable running on game day. This week, however, Russini notes that Mahomes is feeling better and has "absolutely zero limitations" placed on what he should be able to do in Super Bowl LVII. Here's more from her:
"This past week, he and Andy Reid were collaborating on the plays. They had him rolling out and trying different ad-libbing with different scenarios to just see what the comfort level was. They went through a list of plays, and they checked off 'this is what I like, this is what I'm comfortable doing.' And it was all set and in place by Friday night. Overall, though, Mahomes feels really good. Speaking to players, they said that he has been locked in all week long."
Mahomes will be ready to roll for Super Bowl LVII
Echoing the same sentiment as Russini, James Palmer of NFL Network reported in a Sunday morning Twitter thread that Mahomes did indeed have plays and plans tweaked in advance of the AFC Championship Game. Additionally, he says that the Chiefs "held their breath" as Mahomes worked in practice leading up to the game. This week's vibe was much different, and by every indication, Mahomes will be much closer to his normal self than he was even a week or two ago. From Palmer's thread:
Mahomes was able to move to a certain extent. Plays had been altered during the week to accommodate his limitations per sources. This week was much different. He was making plays on Friday that were wowing his teammates RB Melvin Gordon told me. This pregame warmup ... (2/3)
No one will hold their breath. Mahomes won't be 100%, but there is so much less of an unknown. He told me he's not even sure he'll really have to test it pregame because he's in a really good spot with the ankle. It's a very different situation compared to the title game (3/3)
