Chiefs Patrick Mahomes credits trainers with ability to bounce back from ankle injury
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- All eyes are on Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes for a second day as he again puts his injured ankle to the test during practice.
Mahomes said his sprained right ankle continues to improve throughout the week.
I thought I had a good day yesterday.
Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs Quarterback
"I thought I had a good day yesterday. Obviously things you have to work through here and there, but overall, probably better than I expected being able to go out there and throw the football around and get the reps in that I needed to get in," Mahomes said.
The sentiment is similar to what Mahomes told reporters Wednesday afternoon when he said he is ready to go and will play in Sunday's AFC Championship game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said Mahomes is on schedule and progressing as expected.
"He's doing fine. You can see. He's doing well in rehab. You can see it on the field," Reid said.
The injury is apparently healing so well, Chief's offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy felt comfortable joking about it.
"I have no idea how Patrick Mahomes is getting through this week but I want whatever he’s taking," Bieniemy said.
Mahomes agreed with his coaches assessments, and agrees each day will be a little tougher on his injured leg.
"Today will be another test. A little bit harder practice. A little bit more speed. You're not going to be able to prepare yourself 100% for the game, but you can do the best you can at putting yourself in those positions and then hopefully by the end of the week you're in an even better spot that you'll do what you need to do to win," Mahomes said.
The Chiefs quarterback hasn't spent a lot of time at home this week, he said. His days are full of treatments and rehab for his injured ankle, meetings, watching film, and more treatments and rehab.
Mahomes credits his healing ability to all of the training and support staff who have worked with him.
"If you talk about the training staff here, you talk about the weight staff here. Then you talk about Bobby [Stroupe], we do a lot of things, kinda preventative stuff and you can't prevent all injuries, but you can prepare your body the best way possible so that whenever stuff like this last game happens you're able to bounce back quickly. We've done a lot of ankle and knee and foot stuff, especially after my last few injuries I've had," Mahomes said.
The MVP finalist says the preventative work is the reason for his ability to bounce back quickly from injuries.
He knows everyone is focused on his ankle and how it will impact his game on Sunday, but Mahomes believes he will be ready.
"All I can do is just prepare my body the best way possible. I've seen the videos and everything like that of me walking. I don't know what you can really get from me walking. I think people will see on Sunday where I'm at and I'll see on Sunday where I'm at. I prepare my body the best way during the week to be in the best position possible," Mahomes said.
The Kansas City Chiefs meet the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.