Patrick Mahomes MRI ‘turned out as good as possible,’ QB ‘progressing nicely’

The Kansas City Chiefs are exceedingly optimistic about Patrick Mahomes’ recovery from a dislocated knee cap. In the four days since the injury, the team has gone from concerned about season-ending ligament damage to talk that he could be back in a few weeks.

On Monday, head trainer Rick Burkholder told the media Mahomes knee MRI last Friday “turned out as good as possible” and the quarterback is “progressing nicely,” according to Chiefs beat writer Herbie Teope. Burkholder said Mahomes has started doing pool therapy.

Head coach Andy Reid met with the media as well, and he did not want to put a timeline on Mahomes’ return. There has been talk of a three week absence, with others suggesting three to five weeks. Reid did say “it would be a stretch” for Mahomes to play this week against the Green Bay Packers, according to Teope.

Fantasy football analysis, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes

Matt Moore will get the start in Week 8, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were anonymous sources suggesting this weekend that Mahomes could return to some limited practice next week. That does not mean he actually will return, but given the overwhelming optimism the Chiefs are providing, that kind of report from Ian Rapoport or Adam Schefter or whomever would not surprise me at all.

Moore is not a fantasy option at this point, so if Mahomes was your guy, you’ll want to look in some other directions. Just don’t add Ryan Tannehill.

Gambling analysis

The Chiefs dropped to +1100 in Super Bowl odds and Mahomes dropped to +1000 in MVP odds. The missed time does not help, but both could be solid values at this point. Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, and Lamar Jackson seem like the three front-runners for MVP, but if the Chiefs struggle the next few weeks and turn it back on when Mahomes returns, he’s an intriguing MVP bet right now.

Kansas City hosts Green Bay on Sunday Night Football this week, and are a three-point underdog. If Mahomes were healthy, KC would likely favored by at or over a field goal in this game. The Chiefs host Minnesota next week and travel to Tennessee in Week 10. There is a decent chance they’ll be underdogs in both games, but it will depend on how the next two weeks shake out.

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