After days of speculation, it appears that the Kansas City Chiefs won’t need to make a quarterback change. On Thursday, Andy Reid provided many injury updates, including an optimistic one about Patrick Mahomes. After all, the starting quarterback is expected to play against the Houston Texans on Saturday.
“He worked out this week [in] full and will most likely end up playing. We’ll just see how things work out today,” Reid told reporters before Thursday’s practice. “I’m going to make sure [he’s OK]. We’ve been taking it day by day, and that’s kind of where we’re at. But he did look good out there… he moved around pretty good. You’re always looking to make sure that [he] can get out of the way, not to further any harm to him. So that’s what I look at.”
Mahomes set off the alarms on Sunday, when he had to be helped off the field during the fourth quarter of the Chiefs‘ 21-7 win over the Cleveland Browns. The panic didn’t last long though, as the 2x NFL MVP was listed as a full participant in practice throughout the week.
Reid impressed by Mahomes’ strength
The 29-year-old was considered “week-to-week” after suffering a “mild” high ankle sprain, but it turns out that he recovered a bit sooner than expected. That’s why Reid made sure to heap massive praise on Mahomes during his press conference.
“(Mahomes) amazes me every time he does it,” Reid said. “That guy, he’s so mentally tough. It’s just a mindset he has going into it. So where he was a few days ago, yeah, I’d probably say it was a long shot. But he’s done well with it.”
Reid expects Mahomes to count on ‘Hollywood’ Brown
The quarterback’s status was not the only good news Reid provided to Chiefs Kingdom on Thursday. Apart from suggesting that Pat will play, the coach all but gave the green light for wide receiver Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown. Earlier in the day, a report suggested that Mahomes and Reid would count on him against the Texans.
“Yeah, there’s a good chance on that,” Reid said of activating Brown for Saturday’s game. “He’s done a nice job. It wasn’t his legs, so he’s been able to run, keep himself in running shape — but the rest of it, where the surgery and that, it looked good and was doing fine.”
Reid rules out Humphries, Conner against Houston
However, the Texans game appears to come a bit soon for other injured players in Kansas City. While Reid was happy to reveal Mahomes and Brown will probably suit up, he also confirmed that veteran tackle D.J. Humphries and safety Chamarri Conner will have to wait at least another week.
“We’ve got to let that hamstring heal. Eventually, he’ll get back in there and can get going,” Reid said of Humphries, who got injured in his Chiefs debut against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 14.
Conner, on the other hand, was sidelined this week after suffering a concussion in Cleveland. But just like Humphries, the safety could be back for the Chiefs’ Christmas Day Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers: “There’s a chance Wednesday. But right now, he’s still going in the protocol and going through it. He’s doing better every day, so we’ll have to see. Definitely out for this game.”