Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes Says Ankle Injury 'Took a Lot Longer Than I Expected to Heal'

Patrick Mahomes' ankle is "good" even if the healing process lasted longer into the offseason than he initially thought.

"It's good," the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback said during Thursday's appearance on TNT's NBA Tip-Off. "It definitely took a lot longer than I expected to heal. But at this point now, I've been able to run around."

Mahomes suffered the injury during a January playoff win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

"I wouldn't say I'm 100 percent, but I've had no necessarily limitations," he told reporters in April. "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."

Chiefs fans surely held their breath when Mahomes exited that win over Jacksonville and even received X-rays.

However, he returned to the game and led his team to a 27-20 victory.

To his credit, he remained effective throughout the rest of the playoffs despite the injury. He went 29-of-43 for 326 yards and two scores during the AFC Championship Game win over Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals and then followed it up by going 21-of-27 for 182 yards and three touchdowns in the Super Bowl win over Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles.

Mahomes cemented his status as the league's top quarterback and will seemingly be ready to go in 2023 as Kansas City chases its third Lombardi Trophy in five years.

"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 said in April.

He also said he believed the foot injury that required offseason surgery in 2021 was more severe.

While the recovery process has lasted multiple months, this is the ideal time of year for such a process. As long as he continues to make progress, he should be under center when Kansas City opens its title defense with a matchup against the Detroit Lions on Sept. 7.