INDIANAPOLIS _ From the moment Patrick Mahomes shooed away a cart in Denver to the moment he propped to his feet and walked to the locker room without assistance to the moment medical tests indicated he escaped serious injury, a best-case scenario unfolded for an NFL franchise quarterback, and eventually the franchise itself.
It continues.
Mahomes will avoid surgery on the dislocated kneecap he suffered during a game in Denver, Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Tuesday during the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Mahomes missed two weeks with the injury, which occurred in October at Denver.
"He's fine," Reid said before later adding, "I think our doctors did a great job with that _ (head athletic trainer) Rick (Burkholder), his whole crew, handled that the right way. I think that was important."
In most cases of dislocated kneecaps, according to doctors who spoke to The Star this season, high-performing athletes can put off surgery initially but later opt to repair the medial medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) with an operation.
The structure of Mahomes' right knee, however, is sound, according to tests conducted after the Super Bowl. He has already begun training this offseason, reuniting once again to Bobby Stroupe, his childhood trainer who owns the APEC gym in Fort Worth.
Upon the kneecap's dislocation, Mahomes remained stationary, as teammates and even the Chiefs' owner feared his season would be done. But immediate tests inside the locker room in Denver showed no further significant ligament damage. Within a week, he had returned to practice. Within two more, he returned to games. Within months, he hoisted the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
And now he marches on _ progressing to an offseason workout program the same month he was named the Super Bowl LIV most valuable player. He opts for limited time off.
Recently, he was throwing footballs to wide receiver Dez Bryant, who is trying to work his way back into the NFL.
"Pat handled it the right way," Reid said. "Pat had the right mentality. He didn't miss a practice _ because he didn't want to miss a practice. We were the bad guys, pushing him down."
