KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes went through a morning walkthrough Wednesday and intends to practice as usual, raising expectations that the All-Pro quarterback will not be slowed by his sprained right ankle in this weekend’s AFC title game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Mahomes was hurt late in the first quarter of their divisional win over Jacksonville last Saturday, when Jaguars pass rusher Arden Key landed on him. X-rays taken during the game came back negative, and Mahomes returned in the second half to lead them to a 27-20 victory and a spot in the Chiefs’ fifth straight conference title game.
“We’ll see throughout the week. I haven’t gotten to go out and practice yet and put myself in those positions,” Mahomes said Wednesday. “I’ve done limited stuff in a small box of what I can do, but I’ll push today and the next day and the next day again, to not reaggravate the injury but see what I can.”
Mahomes said the injury is similar to one he played through early in the 2019 season, when he came back the following week to throw four touchdown passes in a win over the Raiders. The only difference is it’s the opposite ankle.
It’s also not as bad as a toe injury that Mahomes had earlier in his career.
“He had a couple injuries in college he fought through,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “In the NFL, with all the games you play, very seldom do you get to this point without having something. That’s just how it goes.”
Reid said he doesn’t anticipate holding Mahomes back in practice this week.
“Most likely he won’t just do a little. I don’t think I’m going to have to go there with that,” Reid said. “I may have to pull him back a little bit. But knowing him, I think he’s going to try to do everything and we’ll see what he does.”
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