Getty Patrick Mahomes is hoping to beat the projected return timeline for his injured knee.
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid provided more injury updates ahead of the team’s Week 10 game against the Tennessee Titans, and it sounds like key players could be back sooner than expected.
Before the Chiefs began practice on Wednesday, Reid addressed the media and of course, questions about quarterback Patrick Mahomes started the conversation. Basically, the Chiefs want the reigning MVP to get some rounds of practice before suiting up for the game on Sunday. In his remarks, Reid was also careful not to confirm whether or not Mahomes would be active before doctors gave him the go-ahead.
“We’re going to see with a little bit more,” Reid expressed. “We’ll just see how he works — how he handles it — and then we’ll go from there. Rick [Burkholder] and his crew have a good job of monitoring him. Patrick has been honest with him and shot him straight.”
He continued: “He obviously wants to play, I mean that’s him, he’s wanted to do that since 20 minutes after it happened. We’ve just got to see, not only today when he works, but how he wakes up with it in the morning. I just think it’s day-to-day, we’ll get both guys ready to go like we did last week and we’ll take it from there and see how it all works.”
Patrick Mahomes’ Injury Timeline & Matt Moore’s Play
Mahomes has been nursing a knee injury he sustained while attempting a quarterback sneak against AFC West rivals the Denver Broncos on October 17. An October 27 report from the NFL’s Ian Rapoport hinted the 24-year-old could be healthy enough by Week 10.
For the past two games, the Chiefs have arguably been in safe hands with back-up quarterback Matt Moore. Despite losing his first contest as starter to the Green Bay Packers, Moore bounced back when the Minnesota Vikings visited Arrowhead Stadium and led a successful drive to set up the game-winning field goal from Harrison Butker. Since being named QB1, the 35-year-old has completed 64.8 percent of his passes for 569 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Other Chiefs Players Returned to Practice Wednesday
Mahomes isn’t the only Chiefs player who fans have been anxiously awaiting his return. Defensive end Frank Clark, who has been suffering from a neck injury, and right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, who has been sidelined with an ankle sprain are both scheduled to practice this week.
Eric Fisher and Alex Okafor are the only guys not practicing today for the #Chiefs, per Andy Reid.
Good news for Frank Clark, Kendall Fuller, Patrick Mahomes and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, who all missed the last game with injuries.
Also noticeably absent but returning to practice this week is cornerback Kendall Fuller, who picked up a thumb injury in Kansas City’s 31-24 loss against the Houston Texans in Week 6.
#Chiefs CB Kendall Fuller suffered what is believed to be a slight fracture in Sunday’s game, sources say. He left the game with a thumb injury. The versatile and impressive DB, who is getting a second opinion to be sure, missed minimal time last year after wrist surgery.
So, it appears the only two Chiefs players who did not practice today are left tackle Eric Fisher and defensive end Alex Okafor.
Chiefs Add New Faces to the Practice Squad
On Wednesday, the Chiefs signed former New Orleans Saints tight end Alize Mack to the practice squad, parting ways with punter Jack Fox to make space on their 53-man roster.
Mack, who was the Saints’ seventh-round (231st overall) draft pick in 2019, joins Nick Keizer in the tight end role, who spent the offseason training with the Chiefs. The 22-year-old played ball at Notre Dame University prior to declaring for the draft.