Trey Smith (No. 65) and Jawaan Taylor (No. 74) of the Kansas City Chiefs help up quarterback Patrick … [+]
Despite an ankle injury suffered in the previous game, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is champing at the bit to face the Houston Texans on Saturday.
“My hope is to go out there to play,” he said. “The reason you play this game is to push to play.”
Tuesday is typically a day off for NFL teams, but because the Chiefs play on Saturday instead of Sunday, Mahomes along with the rest of the players were scheduled to participate in the light practice at 1:20 p.m.
“He’s gonna go through some stuff,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said. “Let’s just see what he does.”
After icing his ankle and undergoing electric stimulation during Sunday’s plane ride home after defeating the Cleveland Browns, Mahomes spent most of Monday at the Chiefs’ training facility.
“I feel it really responded really well,” he said.
Mahomes’ injury occurred when the Chiefs went for it on 4th and 3 with 8:01 left in their 21-7 victory against the Browns. Defensive tackles Dalvin Tomlinson, who had five quarterback hits in the game, and Michael Hall Jr. converged on Mahomes, who was bent back awkwardly.
“I was trying to run out of the pocket obviously, fourth down, trying to make a play happen. And as I threw the ball, kind of got hit,” Mahomes said. “I kind of just got rolled up on, kind of happens in football. “
Mahomes said the treatment and rehab process has gone well so far in the short amount of time, but if he can’t go, he has confidence in backup Carson Wentz, who signed a one-year, $3.325 million contract with the Chiefs during the offseason.
“At the end of the day,” Mahomes said, “I’m not going to put our team in a bad position.”
The Chiefs, though, are in a bit of a difficult position, considering their gauntlet of a schedule coming up with games played on Saturday vs. the Texans and then Wednesday at the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The three-time Super Bowl MVP is arguably the best player in the NFL, and that’s why the Chiefs rewarded him with a 10-year, $450 million contract, which remains the highest in the NFL in overall contract value.
Along with his value, Mahomes has demonstrated the ability to play through pain and injury — most notably with previous high ankle sprains.
He suffered a right high ankle sprain in the divisional playoffs, following the 2003 season, but still played well on it while leading the Chiefs to wins in the AFC Championship Game and Super Bowl LVII.
Mahomes said that injury was worse.
He also suffered a high ankle sprain early in the 2019 regular season, which concluded with his first Super Bowl title.
“Every injury is different. You know what you have to do to get back, and I think that’s the most important thing,” he said. “Now we just get back to the rehab part, the treatment part, and try to get ourselves ready on a short week against a good football team.”
