The latest on Patrick Mahomes’ high-ankle sprain from Wednesday’s Chiefs presser

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is working out on Wednesday — four days before the team’s AFC Championship game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid confirmed Mahomes went through the walkthrough Wednesday morning before he would take the field on Wednesday afternoon.

Several times during his opening press conference, Reid said that the quarterback would “do everything” despite suffering a high-ankle sprain in his right leg during the first quarter of the team’s 27-20 Divisional Round win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The head coach explained Mahomes would test it on Wednesday and put more on him as the week progresses.

“He’s had injuries before, so he can bank on that past experience that he’s had — but he’ll do fine,” said Reid. “It’s just a matter of making sure that he’s safe as you can be out there on a football field.”

Reid’s partially referring to the high-ankle sprain Mahomes suffered in his left leg in Week 1 of the 2019 season against the Jaguars. Mahomes stayed in the game against Jacksonville and threw for 400 yards and four touchdowns in Week 2 against the then-Oakland Raiders.

“It’s very similar, just a different ankle,” said the quarterback. “Especially, when [it’s a] different ankle, from the quarterback position, you’re playing and throwing off different stuff. The last one, it was the leg that I landed on, so I had to find ways to throw where I could land and keep it in the right spot. This time, I’ll have to find ways to be able to push off and to be able to make the throws the right way. Definitely similar in a sense, but obviously different limitations and stuff that I’ll have to work through.”

Mahomes also had to play through turf toe he suffered during the 2020 edition of the Divisional Round, which he called the toughest injury he has had to push through as a pro. Even though he was playing through a painful injury, the Chiefs managed to win the AFC Championship against the Buffalo Bills before losing Super Bowl LV to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“I remember when I had the toe, I had to curl my toes when I walked,” said Mahomes. “But I’ve dealt with a lot them, and you’re going to have to just mentally get yourself to focus on what needs to be focused on: that’s the team that you’re playing. You prepare your body all week — and when you get to Sunday, you focus on playing the football game. That’s what I’m going to try to do this week.”

Asked about possibly needing to game plan around the ankle, Reid expressed that he thought the offense would be just fine.

“I think we have enough in the game plan where you can kind of pick and choose where you want to go with it according to how the players are feeling while they’re playing,” said Reid. “You have a variety of things that you can go to. Obviously, you don’t use all the plays in the game, but they’re available, so if you have to go a certain direction, you can go that direction with the calls.”

As Mahomes said after the Divisional Round game, he has been receiving constant treatment on the ankle since late Saturday night.

“I was able to do some extra testing just to make sure everything was good the night after the game — and then get a few things done to help the treatment start off,” he said. “Then the next few days have just kind of been an all-day thing where you’re just doing treatment or rehab or watching film. I had to take [my wife] Brittany a few places with me so I could be around the kids a little bit — but it’s a full-day thing, where you’re trying to make sure you’re obviously prepared for the Bengals — a great football team — mentally and physically.”

It’s all led to Reid having enough confidence to put the quarterback through what could be a full Wednesday practice.

“Most likely just won’t do a little,” said Reid in response to a suggestion Mahomes might have fewer reps. “I don’t think I’m going to have to go there with that. I might have to pull him back a little bit — but knowing him, I think he’s going to try and do everything. We’ll just see how he does. I don’t know what that number is — whatever the number is, it is — that he needs, but I don’t think that’s going to be the issue.”

Just like in the regular season, the Chiefs must describe Mahomes’ practice status as limited or full in injury reports from Wednesday through Friday. That first injury report will be out sometime on Wednesday afternoon.