Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes was closer than you realize to suiting up for Sunday night football’s game against the Packers.
It’s still hard to imagine that less than a week removed from dislocating his kneecap he returned to practice. Andy Reid explained on Friday that Mahomes did a lot this week and was close to making a return. Instead, they opted to keep him out.
How could this be? It seems unnatural and superhuman for Mahomes to be so close to returning. The normal timeline for this type of injury was supposed to be 3-6 weeks and now he could be a week away from stepping onto the football field.
According to a recent report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the reason for Mahomes’ speedy recovery and a potential quick return is the way that his knee is structured. The ligaments surrounding the kneecap for Mahomes are naturally loose, which helped mitigate the damage from his dislocation injury. Basically, the anatomy of his knee is special and saved him from significant injury. Rapoport described it as Mahomes being “double-jointed.”
The recovery timeline for Mahomes still isn’t exactly clear. According to Rapoport, there’s a chance it’s next week against the Vikings but likely that it’s against the Titans in Week 10. The big determining factor is going to be how quickly scar tissue forms and can protect Mahomes knee from another dislocation. The anatomy that has allowed for a speedier recovery also allows for easier reinjury, so the Chiefs must proceed with caution before getting Mahomes back on the field.
