KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Test result on the right knee of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes showed no significant damage, but head coach Andy Reid said the club plans a wait-and-see approached before returning him to the football field.
“We're going to just see how he does,” Reid said when asked if he would already rule out Mahomes for this Sunday night's contest against the Green Bay Packers. “I'd probably say it would be a stretch for him to get there. He's working hard. From the information that we've had to this point, he's doing what he can do and we'll just see how it goes.”
The Chiefs officially confirmed what was widely reported in recent days. Mahomes suffered a dislocate patella that club physician Paul Schoreppel reduced on the field. The club's medical staff took X-rays of Mahomes' right knee at the stadium in Denver Thursday night and followed up with an MRI Friday at the team's training complex in Kansas City. The results were “ as good as we could possibly imagine,” Burkholder said.
“He's worked all weekend here,” Burkholder said. “He's done rehabilitation, did extensive pool therapy here at the complex, has done some stuff in the athletic training room and is progressing nicely.”
But the Chiefs refused to put an official timeline on the return of Mahomes to the field. While media reports indicate an absence up to three weeks lightly, Reid says all players and injuries are different.
“I don't you can put a timeline on this thing,” Reid said. “I think you just go and you go off how he feels and what the doctors say and go with that. I don't think there's a set time though. I know people want a time, I don't think you can do that with this injury.”
The Chiefs went through a similar mysterious timeline with wide receiver Tyreek Hill. Hill suffered a sternoclavicular dislocation in Week 1, and reports suggested he might miss six to eight weeks. Hill missed just four games before returning Week 6.
“You saw that with Tyreek, how we managed that,” Burkholder said. “We do this with all of our players, so we'll manage Patrick accordingly and he's right in the middle of the process. I appreciate your time.”
Reid said Mahomes continues carrying a positive attitude following the injury – “When you've been around him long enough, you know that there's nothing impossible with this kid.” He also didn't rule out a potential earlier than expected return.
“He's smart this way, but it's important that he listens to the doctors and the trainers and that he continues to work hard at the same time and get himself ready to go,” Reid said. “He's doing all the things that he can possibly do.”
The Chiefs stand 5-2 atop the AFC West and continuing harboring Super Bowl ambitions. But Reid doesn't plan to play politics with the injury – “What we do is we just do the right thing,” he says.
“We make sure that the player is able to play and then as opposed to playing all the games with that you might think or people might think, we're real with the whole thing and if you can play, you can play and if you can't, you can't.”
