Patrick Mahomes Ankle Updates from Andy Reid, Mahomes Ahead of AFC Championship

Kansas City has Wednesday updates on the injury situation regarding Patrick Mahomes.

It's been a wild past week for the Kansas City Chiefs, as they defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Divisional Round of the AFC playoffs but also saw quarterback Patrick Mahomes go down with an ugly-looking ankle injury. The ailment has since been diagnosed as a high-ankle sprain, something that head coach Andy Reid confirmed on Monday afternoon. After a day of no new news, Kansas City now has some updates.

Taking the podium late on Wednesday morning, Reid spoke ahead of Kansas City's AFC Championship Game showdown against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Chiefs will need Mahomes to be as effective as possible heading into their Sunday rematch against Joe Burrow and company, and both Mahomes and Reid emphasized early in the post-injury process that the Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year finalist would be playing this weekend. 

With the practice week now in full swing, Reid gave the latest on his quarterback's injury situation. Mahomes participated in Kansas City's Wednesday morning walkthrough, and he's active for practice in the afternoon. In regards to Mahomes's practice intensity and workload on Wednesday and throughout the rest of the week, Reid added that he may need to "pull him back a little."

Andy Reid: "Everybody is going to practice today."

— Nate Taylor (@ByNateTaylor) January 25, 2023

Following Reid, Mahomes took the podium on Wednesday afternoon to provide some further insight into his injury. He said the ankle is "doing good," adding that he's excited to get back out on the practice field and see where he's at now that he's had a few days of treatment under his belt. Mahomes continued, saying he wants to push his ankle during practice this week while also ensuring he doesn't aggravate it by testing it a bit too hard. The ankle injury continues to be in a better place than he expected it to be and to cap things off, he confirmed that he'll be ready to go on Sunday.

Additionally, Reid was optimistic about wide receiver Mecole Hardman as he continues to recover from a pelvis injury. Hardman, who hasn't played since Nov. 6, originally had an abdominal injury land him on the injured reserve list and then he suffered a setback once designated to return and while ramping up during his practice window. In regards to tight end Jody Fortson and running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Reid said the former is more likely to return to the lineup for the AFC Championship Game.

WEDNESDAY PRACTICE UPDATE: Per the Chiefs, Mahomes was a full participant in practice on Wednesday. Hardman was limited.

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