Kansas City Chiefs quarterback is still making adjustments to football life after surgery.
When it comes to Patrick Mahomes and injuries, getting to the truth with the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback isn’t easy. Mahomes will play through pain, and he has a knack for positive statements that makes even a serious injury sound like a hangnail, which has definitely been the case all year with Mahomes steady series of sunshine updates after his serious knee injury.
But Jesse Newell of The Athletic had a chance to watch Mahomes first hand during his first real appearances at training camp, and he provided several initial impressions that are worth noting.
Mahomes is testing himself
This is something Mahomes does constantly, even when he’s healthy, especially when the Chiefs need a big play. According to Newell, Mahomes was part of a group that practiced rollouts to his left in practice, and he was definitely favoring the left leg.
This to be expected at this point in his recovery, and it does have some implications. Specifically, the Chiefs offense is likely to be simplified until Mahomes regains his latest version of full mobility. There’s a push/pull process going on here between what Mahomes can do and what’s off limits, and it’s ongoing.
The brace will be an adjustment
Mahomes made it sound like wearing a brace would be nothing, as he did it back at Texas Tech when he was hurt in college. But that was a long time ago, and this is a different injury.
As Newell noted, this particular version of the brace is different. The writer recorded videos of Mahomes during the recent practices he saw, and Newell said he was struck by how many times Mahomes had to reach over to adjust the bulky brace. Some adjusments were quick and small, while others involved tugging and pulling at multiple straps to get them into a better position.
The upshot is that the quarterback isn’t comfortable with the brace yet, and it could take a week or two before that becomes the case.
Mahomes is practicing a specific more often
This one isn’t hard to figure out. The Chiefs didn’t pay new running back Kenneth Walker III a boatload of money to make him part of Andy Reid’s motion offense concepts, so it makes sense that Mahomes is taking more snaps under center.
He’s going to be doing a lot more handing off and whatever motion he can manage from that configuration, so this aligns with everything else we’ve heard about the Chiefs’ offensive plans this season.
