Patrick Mahomes attempted (and converted) a fourth-and-one quarterback sneak in the second quarter of Thursday Night Football's Chiefs-Broncos game. That was his last play of the game, as Mahomes walked off the field under his own power but was quickly ruled out for the remainder of the contest. He entered the game battling a multi-week ankle injury, and the initial implications were that he injured his right knee on the QB sneak. Fantasy football owners of Mahomes and other Chiefs players are obviously wondering what comes next.
NFL Network's James Palmer has reported Mahomes suffered a patella dislocation, no fracture and will need an MRI to determine possible ligament damage.
Here's the full sequence of Patrick Mahomes' fourth-and-1 sneak, where he stays down after the play, obviously injured. #Chiefs #KCvsDEN #TNF
— Billy Heyen (@Wheyen3) October 18, 2019
It looks like he points at his right leg, and he reaches toward his knee a bit. Definitely looks hurt. pic.twitter.com/GEEQJgZDJg
One broadcast angle showed Mahomes having what could only be described as his right knee being popped back into place.
Here's where it looks like they pop Patrick Mahomes' knee/kneecap? back into place. #Chiefs #KCvsDEN #TNF pic.twitter.com/dCbatNGbsP
— Billy Heyen (@Wheyen3) October 18, 2019
Mahomes headed to the in-stadium X-Ray room, according to the broadcast, and was officially ruled out within a couple minutes, based on the timing of a tweet from the Chiefs' official Twitter account.
Matt Moore is Kansas City's backup quarterback and will play the remainder of Thursday night leading KC's offense.
Patrick Mahomes fantasy outlook
UPDATE: Initial reports are that Mahomes dislocated his right kneecap but there were no breaks. He will have an MRI on Friday to see if there is ligament damage. Assuming there isn't significant damage, Mahomes would likely miss at least a few weeks, but he could return this season. Kansas City has a Week 12 bye. If the Chiefs held out Mahomes through that bye, he would miss four games. At this point, fantasy owners just need to hold on to him and hope for the best.
UPDATE 2: An MRI on Friday confirmed Mahomes avoided additional significant additional damage to his dislocated knee cap. He will likely be held out through the Chiefs Week 12 bye, but it's possible he could return a week sooner.
More news will emerge in the coming days, and maybe even Thursday night, about the extent of Mahomes' injury. He's fantasy's unquestioned No. 1 QB, despite a couple of subpar weeks heading into Thursday night. He led a near-flawless TD drive on Kansas City's first drive in Denver.
Every Chiefs' offensive player takes a huge downgrade if Moore is their QB going forward. Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce will both retain fantasy value as supremely talented players, but it will remain to be seen if there are any other fantasy starters in the KC offense if its forced to run without Mahomes. Chad Henne would be the backup upon his as of yet unknown return from preseason ankle surgery.