Chiefs Thursday Injury News: Patrick Mahomes Is Making Progress
The Kansas City Chiefs are in the middle of ramping up ahead of their Sunday game against the Cincinnati Bengals, and perhaps the biggest AFC Championship Game storyline pertains to the ankle of quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
In the first half of Kansas City's Divisional Round win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Mahomes went down with an injury that turned out to be a high-ankle sprain. After a few days of Mahomes getting treatment on the ankle, Reid took the podium on Wednesday and said his star signal-caller would be hitting the practice field that afternoon. Mahomes had some positive updates as well and was a full participant in Wednesday's practice, then Reid continued that trend on Thursday. He said everyone on the active roster is set to practice, and he added that Mahomes was coming off a good way of work.
Immediately following the injury, Mahomes was adamant that he wouldn't miss his team's biggest game of the season. Thus far, that appears to be tracking to be true. Mahomes is in a good spot with his short-term rehab from the injury, and Reid said he didn't have to hold Mahomes back during Wednesday's practice. That, especially considering the timing of the week, was nothing but positive.
Speaking directly after Reid on Thursday, Mahomes said Wednesday's practice went better than even he expected it to. He doesn't believe the ankle injury is keeping him from doing a ton out on the field, and he's doing his best to test it as the week unfolds. With a few days left until Kansas City squares off against Cincinnati, there's still some room for continued progress.
In other Chiefs injury news, Reid said that wide receiver Mecole Hardman "is busting his tail" to be available for Sunday's game. With that said, he added that the team is still evaluating him on a daily basis and nothing is set in stone yet. Hardman, who has been on the injury report recently with a pelvis designation, was the Chiefs' only limited participant in practice on Wednesday.
THURSDAY PRACTICE UPDATE: Per the Chiefs, for the second day in a row, Hardman was limited in practice while the rest of the team participated in full capacity.
