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Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes has advantages, disadvantages in way body built; could return sooner than expected
By PROFOOTBALLDOC
OCT. 27, 2019
9:05 AM
There is no question that Patrick Mahomes is an amazing athlete. He might even border on superhuman.
The Chiefs quarterback, voted as the NFL’s MVP in 2018, his first year as a starter, can use his feet to create plays and has the arm strength to make throws most other quarterbacks can only dream of.
Now comes an NFL.com report of his exceptional recovery from injury and the special way he is built.
Certainly, he is a unique specimen. But he is human.
The optimistic report makes sense and seems to be great news, but there is a potential downside.
Mahomes is reportedly “loose-jointed.” Some people are just more flexible than others, which gives them clear advantages. For example, that looseness is why Mahomes has tremendous arm strength. Being “double-jointed” gives him the ability to further externally rotate (wind up) his shoulder to allow for more power.
And due to his having naturally loose ligaments, there was less damage when he dislocated his patella Oct. 17 against the Broncos.
One negative to being built this way is his kneecap can pop out more easily due to the elastic nature of the restraining ligaments.
Watching the video of how he got hurt on the quarterback sneak is evidence of this. It is not like he took a big hit. Once any joint dislocates a first time, that makes it easier and more likely to happen a second time.
The original reports of “best-case scenario” and “not significant additional damage” led most to believe there was nothing torn, but that is just medically not feasible. The report does confirm that one ligament (likely the medical patellofemoral ligament) was compromised.
Mahomes surprised everyone by returning to practice in just six days “but didn’t do much. He jogged around, threw some passes and took some scout-team reps,” and the baggy sweats he was wearing likely hid a large brace and swelling in his knee.
My original estimate was that Mahomes would return in about three to four weeks, targeting the Nov. 18 game against the Chargers.
Sunday’s report says that Mahomes will likely return for the Titans game on Nov. 10 — with an outside shot to play next week vs the Vikings.
Given that he injured the knee on Oct. 17th, the Week 10 match-up at Tennessee would be 3½ weeks from injury.
The return to play also has to factor in more than just how his knee feels or how well he can play. The additional worry is re-injury as the chance of re-dislocation is significant.
Five factors contrubute to this risk:
Having loose ligaments to being with.
The MPFL is compromised now due to the dislocation.
After any first dislocation, the second one happens easier.
His knees appear to be in valgus (knock kneed), which leads to higher propensity to dislocate due to tracking issues.
He is playing at the highest level in one a highly dynamic fashion.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed as Mahomes returns. For all of these reasons, I still think surgery is in his future.
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes has advantages, disadvantages in way body built; could return sooner than expected
By PROFOOTBALLDOC
OCT. 27, 2019
9:05 AM
There is no question that Patrick Mahomes is an amazing athlete. He might even border on superhuman.
The Chiefs quarterback, voted as the NFL’s MVP in 2018, his first year as a starter, can use his feet to create plays and has the arm strength to make throws most other quarterbacks can only dream of.
Now comes an NFL.com report of his exceptional recovery from injury and the special way he is built.
Certainly, he is a unique specimen. But he is human.
The optimistic report makes sense and seems to be great news, but there is a potential downside.
Mahomes is reportedly “loose-jointed.” Some people are just more flexible than others, which gives them clear advantages. For example, that looseness is why Mahomes has tremendous arm strength. Being “double-jointed” gives him the ability to further externally rotate (wind up) his shoulder to allow for more power.
And due to his having naturally loose ligaments, there was less damage when he dislocated his patella Oct. 17 against the Broncos.
One negative to being built this way is his kneecap can pop out more easily due to the elastic nature of the restraining ligaments.
Watching the video of how he got hurt on the quarterback sneak is evidence of this. It is not like he took a big hit. Once any joint dislocates a first time, that makes it easier and more likely to happen a second time.
The original reports of “best-case scenario” and “not significant additional damage” led most to believe there was nothing torn, but that is just medically not feasible. The report does confirm that one ligament (likely the medical patellofemoral ligament) was compromised.
Mahomes surprised everyone by returning to practice in just six days “but didn’t do much. He jogged around, threw some passes and took some scout-team reps,” and the baggy sweats he was wearing likely hid a large brace and swelling in his knee.
My original estimate was that Mahomes would return in about three to four weeks, targeting the Nov. 18 game against the Chargers.
Sunday’s report says that Mahomes will likely return for the Titans game on Nov. 10 — with an outside shot to play next week vs the Vikings.
Given that he injured the knee on Oct. 17th, the Week 10 match-up at Tennessee would be 3½ weeks from injury.
The return to play also has to factor in more than just how his knee feels or how well he can play. The additional worry is re-injury as the chance of re-dislocation is significant.
Five factors contrubute to this risk:
Having loose ligaments to being with.
The MPFL is compromised now due to the dislocation.
After any first dislocation, the second one happens easier.
His knees appear to be in valgus (knock kneed), which leads to higher propensity to dislocate due to tracking issues.
He is playing at the highest level in one a highly dynamic fashion.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed as Mahomes returns. For all of these reasons, I still think surgery is in his future.
