Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ left toe injury he suffered against the Cleveland Browns in last week’s Divisional round has been identified — it has been diagnosed as “turf toe,” wrote Ian Rapoport of NFL Network on Sunday morning.
#Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes was diagnosed with turf toe, sources say, an injury that affected his preparation for the AFC Championship Game more than his time in the concussion protocol.
My story: https://t.co/gbEI5RAFPf
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 24, 2021
In an article posted to NFL.com, Rapoport implied that Mahomes’ toe actually was a greater issue than a possible concussion leading up to Sunday’s AFC title game. Rapoport noted that Chiefs head coach Andy Reid consistently said the quarterback was “in the protocol” rather than saying he suffered a “concussion,” which was intentional.
Mahomes still took almost all the regular snaps — as Reid noted a few times during the week — but the practice regiment more so resembled a series of walkthroughs, per Rapoport.
The Chiefs will reportedly consider surgery in the offseason.
RAPOPORT: As of now, there is not necessarily a belief that Mahomes will need surgery on the plantar plate injury. However, a source said that he’ll be re-evaluated following the season by a foot specialist to determine if he’ll need surgery.
Typically, it takes two to three weeks for pain to subside from turf toe, but Mahomes said his toe was improving on Friday.
“It’s feeling a lot better,” he said. “I mean — the next day it was very sore and then every single day since then it has gotten a lot better. It’s stuff you deal with being a football player, you deal with injures and luckily enough for me, this wasn’t as bad as it looked and felt the day of and the day after.”
Mahomes initially looked hindered by the toe issue in the second quarter of last week’s Browns game, but he had been throwing better in the third quarter before having to leave the game as he entered concussion protocol.
The Chiefs play the Bills for the right to represent the AFC in Super Bowl LV at 5:40 p.m. Arrowhead Time. The Bills did not blitz the Chiefs much back in their Week 6 game, but given Mahomes’ possible mobility issues stemming from the injury, their defensive plan Sunday might look vastly different.
