Patrick Mahomes is very much around, even if Kansas City Chiefs fans cannot see him. According to head coach Andy Reid, Mahomes remains a strong presence at Arrowhead Stadium despite the fact that his season has been cut short—and not just by the team's poor record going into Week 18.
The Chiefs are ready to make their final visit of the season with a trip to Allegiant Stadium to face the Las Vegas Raiders, who are in contention for the top overall pick in the draft. It's an unexpectedly pitiful matchup between third- and fourth-place teams in the AFC West. For K.C., the game is a chance to get a closer look at some younger players ahead of the offseason, which includes seeing more of Chris Oladokun under center in Mahomes' place.
Mahomes went down with a serious knee injury in Week 15, a critical loss to the L.A. Chargers that officially halted their postseason hopes. With a towel covering his head, Mahomes was helped to the locker room and subsequent reports confirmed the devastating news that the franchise quarterback had suffered a torn ACL and LCL.
It's good to hear that Patrick Mahomes is attacking rehab as quickly as possible as the Chiefs move toward the season finale.
Only 24 hours later, Mahomes underwent a successful surgery in Dallas, Texas, in order to get into recovery as soon as possible. Reid says Mahomes is already in the trenches when it comes to his rehab, which keeps him in the building—even as Reid also admits that he's not going to make the trip with the team to Vegas for Sunday's game.
"[Mahomes] is around, so he’s in the building, working, and doing his rehab, and spending a lot of hours doing it. He’s really attacked that and will continue to do so. He’s around and sees the guys, but most of his time is spent rehabbing," said Reid.
The Chiefs turned to Oladokun in Week 16 when backup quarterback Gardner Minshew was also lost with a significant leg injury just several plays into his first start for Mahomes—a Week 16 loss to the Tennessee Titans. The number of injuries at the position led K.C. to bring back quarterback Shane Buechele from the Buffalo Bills practice squad.
The timeline for Mahomes' return remains unclear and will be an ongoing concern for everyone inside and outside of Arrowhead for the next several months. But Reid's comments make it clear that the quarterback is already doing everything he can to overcome one of the biggest hurdles in a historic career in the hopes that he can help the team rebound from a losing season.