Patrick Mahomes will test hand injury in Chiefs practice

Patrick Mahomes says he’s expecting to try his regular full workload in Wednesday’s practice to see how his hand injury is coming along.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes spoke to reporters on Wednesday before the team went through their opening practice for Week 15. In preparation to face the Denver Broncos, Mahomes said he was expecting to go ahead and try to take on the full load he normally would in practice despite hurting his hand on Sunday against the New England Patriots.

Mahomes fell on his hand early in the Chiefs win over the Patriots in Week 14 and it was clear that he was in consistent pain. Some throws came out awkwardly and he grabbed his hand after a throw on numerous occasions. After the game, Mahomes received x-rays and other tests on his hand, but it’s clear that no long-term damage was done by the fall.

“It’s doing better,” said Mahomes to reporters on Wednesday. “A lot of the swelling’s went out these last two days, and so I was able to throw the football around today. I’m excited to go out in practice and be able to spin it around there. Definitely it was a little scary after the game when it was a little bit bruised and the swelling and stuff like that, but as we’ve done more and more treatment, the swelling has went away.”

That’s good news for the Chiefs who obviously want to see their quarterback develop more chemistry with an offense that has struggled with consistency this year—largely due to the number of injuries all over the roster, including games missed by Damien Williams, Tyreek Hill, Eric Fisher, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Andrew Wylie and more. Mahomes himself missed two games with a dislocated kneecap, and he’s also suffered from a sore ankle for the first half of the year.

When asked about his expected workload this week, Mahomes said the goal was to try out his typical routine and adjust accordingly from there.

“We’re going to go out there and just test it out and see where I’m at,” he said. “As far as throwing, I was able to throw and do everything like that and take snaps from under center so I’m excited to get out there and practice.”

In 11 games, Mahomes has thrown for 3,266 yards, 21 touchdowns and 3 interceptions on the season.