Mahomes Issues Elbow Update, Says He’s In A ‘Great Spot’

The Kansas City Chiefs survived a huge scare when quarterback Patrick Mahomes injured his elbow against the New York Jets, and he’s apparently passing the next steps in the aftermath of the injury, as he said he’s in a “great spot” with the elbow, per a report from Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk.

This isn’t the least bit surprising, and it’s probably even true. Credit Mahomes for his approach to injury updates, as he’s earned the right to be taken at face value given how well he’s played and how accurate his updates have been.

According to Simmons, Mahomes hasn’t even missed any practice time so far, and he was listed as a full participant on Wednesday. The follow-up MRI was the key to his optimism at this point in the recovery process, and the quarterback said “I feel like I’m in a great spot” as he mentioned the unknowns that can come with an MRI. 

He added that it’s all about pain and pain management now, and Mahomes excels at both of those. We saw some grimaces after a few of his throws against the Jets after he sustained the injury, but those turned out to be short-lived as he warmed up and continued to get treatment on the sidelines. 

Mahomes wants to be 100 percent when the Chiefs take the field against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, but that goal might be a stretch. It’s certainly not beyond Mahomes by any means, but there is going to be a recovery process going forward. 

The key indicator here will be the length of Mahomes’ throws. Coach Andy Reid indicated that the Chiefs did change their game plan at the half against the Jets, and they were able to rely on short passes to score three straight touchdowns and post a 35-12 win. 

If Mahomes can make some downfield throws, that would show that he’s all the way back, but those may not even be part of the game plan. The Chiefs will probably be conservative going forward, and if they can make Atlanta quarterback Michael Penix look as bad as he did against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, that plan will almost certainly succeed. 

The other thing to watch for is the performance of new receiver Josh Downs. He’s been tasked with learning the playbook with just a few practices, and it will be interesting to see how much the Chiefs target him against the Falcons.