Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes Says Ankle Still Not 100% After Suffering Injury in Playoffs

Kansas City Chiefs superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes told reporters on Monday that his ankle injury from the 2022 season isn't "100 percent" healed but that he hasn't necessarily been limited by it either this offseason.

The two-time MVP continued:

"It's just when you go through a grind of a week of training and you're trying to push it and go through the rehab process, but at the same time, you want to make sure you're still building. You might be a little sore on the weekends. I think we've done a great job of pushing it to the right limit to where I'm now I'm throwing and stuff like that and having no limitations there."

"I think running and cutting, there will still be a little bit of limitation for the next few weeks, but I'm happy with where I'm at, and we'll keep pushing it and getting me to the right spot for the beginning of the season."

Mahomes, 27, suffered the injury during the divisional round against the Jacksonville Jaguars and had to briefly leave the 27-20 victory to undergo X-rays, causing major concern that he may not be available going forward.

But he was able to play—and play well, at that—in both the AFC Championship win over the Cincinnati Bengals, finishing 29-of-43 for 326 yards and two scores, and Super Bowl victory over the Philadelphia Eagles (21-of-27 for 182 yards and three touchdowns).

So Mahomes didn't seem worried when discussing the long-term health of his ankle, saying that he believed the offseason surgery he required on his foot in 2021 was a more serious impediment.

He seems happy with the pace of his recovery as well as he works out with his receiving corps in Texas as part of his offseason program:

"As far as the swelling, it went down finally. I don't have that soreness just as much as I was having it after a few days of work. With the improvements that we're making these few weeks, I have a great feeling that by the time we get to training camp, it won't even be any question at all. So, we'll continue to work through it at OTAs. I don't think there will be any limitations on reps or anything like that, especially if I'm not running around a ton, but at the same time, we'll continue the rehab process and making sure that by the time we get to training camp I can just roll out there and feel perfectly fine."

That's great news for the Chiefs.

Mahomes is arguably the most impactful player in football and was superb in 2022, throwing for 5,250 yards, 41 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while completing 67.1 percent of his passes and taking 26 sacks. That earned him his second MVP award, beating out Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, alongside his second first-team All-Pro selection and fifth Pro Bowl nod.

So long as Mahomes is healthy, the Chiefs are contenders. It sounds as though his ankle, while not fully recovered, won't be an issue come the 2023 season.