Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes still feels pain after suffering a high ankle sprain in last Sunday’s victory over the Cleveland Browns. The two-time league MVP addressed his playing status on Tuesday during his press conference with reporters.
“That’s the reason why you play this game; it is to push to play. So I’ll get to work in practice and try to push it to see where I can get to, but at the end of the day, I’m not going to put our team in a bad position.” Mahomes said, “So if I feel like I can play and go out there and win a football game, I’ll play. If I don’t feel like that’s the best-case scenario, I’ll let guys like Carson (Wentz) play. I mean, he’s a guy that’s won in this league as well.”
The Chiefs are already on a short week with Saturday’s regular-season home finale, and they will have a quicker turnaround for their Week 17 game on Wednesday. Carson Wentz is ready and waiting in relief again to start if Mahomes cannot make it through the week of practice.
“I don’t want to limit the game plan; that’s another thing for me, is I want to still be able to move around the pocket so we’re not just sitting in one spot the whole entire game and letting their D-line really get after it,” said Mahomes. “So it’s about me finding that balance, seeing where I’m at. I won’t know until close to the end of this week.”
Mahomes has played many games with an injured ankle, but the short week and the risk of further injury could push him to the sidelines. The next few days will determine his fate against the Texans and possibly Christmas Day against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
