Patrick Mahomes limped off the field with an ankle injury during the Kansas City Chiefs’ game against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, December 15.
The 28-year-old Chiefs quarterback sustained an ankle injury during the game’s fourth quarter and was substituted by backup Carson Wentz. Mahomes was uncertain about his return, and despite walking off the field with a limp, he later rode in a cart as shown in NFL footage.
After the incident, Mahomes explained, “I was trying to make a play happen. As I threw the ball I got hit, and I haven’t seen it, it felt like someone hit me from behind as well, so kind of got rolled up on. Kind of happens in football. Try to bound back up but obviously it hurt a little bit. Now we’ll get after the rehab part of it and try to be ready for next week.”
Mahomes did not return to the game but watched from the sidelines as the Chiefs defeated the Browns 21-7.
Chiefs’ head coach Andry Reid disclosed, “Patrick, his right ankle has been hurt. It’s not broken, but it’s sore. He’ll get started on the rehab part of it as we go, and then we’ll just have to see how he does,” during an interview with reporters after the game as reported on social media.
“It’s not broken, that’s what I can tell you,” Reid continued. “He’ll literally be day-to-day as we go forward. I don’t know how much swelling he has or any of that.”
Mahomes sustained a high ankle injury following a combined hit when he was caught under two Cleveland Browns players: defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo and defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr.
“It’s sore,” Reid further told reporters. “It’ll literally be day to day. He probably could’ve gone back in. He wanted to go back in. There was no need for that.”
Footage after the game showed Mahomes leaving the locker room and being driven on the back of a cart headed for further evaluation on his ankles — he was not wearing a brace or tape on the injured extremity.
“Usually the day after is when you get a good sense of it,” Mahomes said of his injury. “I feel like I could have finished the game in different circumstances. But I thought the smart decision was put Carson in. He’s played a lot of football, and he finished the game well.”
It’s currently unclear if Mahomes will be ready to play with the Chiefs for their final two games of the year. The NFL team is set to play the Houston Texans on Saturday, December 21, and the Pittsburgh Steelers on Wednesday, December 25.
Mahomes’ injury comes after he was fined almost $15,000 for making a “violent gesture” during the Chiefs’ November 17 game against the Buffalo Bills, which they lost 30-21. In the fourth quarter, Mahomes was caught by CBS cameras pantomiming the use of a shotgun after a major play. The NFL deemed this a fineable offense for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Despite recent events, Mahomes has previously stated that the fourth quarter of a football game should be “a little calmer” than the rest of the game.
“You want to have some blowouts,” Mahomes told reporters after the Chiefs 30-27 victory over the Carolina Panthers on November 24. “You want to be a little calmer in the fourth quarter. I’ve always said it can be a good thing as you get to the playoffs and later in the season, just knowing that you’ve been in those moments before and knowing how to kind of attack it.”
