NFL

Super Bowl LVII: Mahomes will be ready for OTAs, but maybe not for golf course

By Sports Desk February 13, 2023

Patrick Mahomes has no concern about being ready for the start of the Kansas City Chiefs' preparations for the 2023 season after injuring his ankle in their Super Bowl LVII success.

Mahomes came up limping heavily after a second-quarter scramble in the Chiefs' remarkable 38-35 win over the Philadelphia Eagles at State Farm Stadium on Sunday.

The Chiefs were trailing 24-14 at that point, but Mahomes emerged from half-time with his ankle re-taped and led Kansas City on a vintage comeback.

Mahomes and his team-mates will have time to bask in an incredible triumph, but there is, as the saying goes, no offseason in the NFL, and the Chiefs will be turning the page to 2023 next month when the new league year starts, with free agency and the draft soon to be on the horizon.

OTAs will follow in May, but Mahomes is more worried about how the ankle injury will impact his play on the golf course than his readiness for offseason workouts.

"I'll for sure be ready for OTAs," Mahomes said at his Super Bowl MVP press conference in Phoenix on Monday.

"The one thing that might take a hit is my golf game."

The Chiefs were slight underdogs against the Eagles, having gone into the season with some predicting their potential dethronement in the AFC West.

Instead, the Chiefs won the division at a canter, and are unlikely to have many doubting them ahead of next season after this latest show of Mahomes magic.

Asked if the Chiefs "keep receipts" from doomsayers, Mahomes replied: "It's hard not to hear that stuff. You hear how not good we're going to be. I'm just going to go out there and prove it on the football field."

Paying tribute to his head coach, Mahomes added: "As long as Andy Reid's coaching us, we're always going to have a chance."

Related items

  • Star NFL tight end Kelce reportedly agrees to two-year extension with Chiefs Star NFL tight end Kelce reportedly agrees to two-year extension with Chiefs

    Travis Kelce has been instrumental to the Chiefs' success over the past few seasons and will remain in Kansas City for the next few seasons.

    The four-time All-Pro tight end and the Chiefs have agreed to a two-year contract extension, according to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport.

    Terms of the extension were not disclosed, but Rapoport reported Monday that the deal will make him the NFL's highest-paid tight end.

    Kelce is currently under contract through 2025, so the new deal will keep him in Kansas City through 2027 after his age-37 season.

     

    The 34-year-old Kelce is Kansas City's all-time leader in receiving yards with 11,328 yards, while ranking second in receptions (907) and second in receiving touchdowns (74). He is just 10 catches away from passing Tony Gonzalez as the franchise's all-time leader in receptions and three TD catches away from surpassing Gonzalez's record in that category.

    A third-round pick by the Chiefs in 2013, Kelce saw his NFL record streak for a tight end of consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards end at seven in 2023, when he finished with a team-high 984 yards. His 93 receptions were also the most on the Chiefs, and he had five touchdown grabs.

    It may have been a down season by his standards, but he was still named to his ninth Pro Bowl team and once again produced in the play-offs.

    In helping Kansas City defend its Super Bowl title and secure its third Lombardi Trophy in the last five seasons, Kelce caught 32 passes for 355 yards with three touchdowns in four play-off games. In the Chiefs' 25-22 overtime win over the San Francisco 49ers in February's Super Bowl, Kelce had nine receptions for 93 yards,

    In addition to being one of the most prolific tight ends in NFL history and a core member of the Chiefs' recent dynasty, Kelce has gained enormous popularity in the last year due to his relationship to pop icon Taylor Swift.

  • Three-time Pro Bowl running back Elliott rejoining Cowboys Three-time Pro Bowl running back Elliott rejoining Cowboys

    The Dallas Cowboys are bringing back two-time NFL rushing champion Ezekiel Elliott after the sides agreed to terms on a deal Monday.

    Dallas selected Elliott with the fourth overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft out of Ohio State, and he won the NFL rushing title as a rookie (1,631 yards) and again in 2018 (1,434).

    After a contract holdout prior to the 2019 campaign, Elliott landed a $90million, six-year extension and wound up rushing for 1,357 yards that season.

    He only surpassed 1,000 yards on the ground once from 2020-22 before being released in March 2023 and signing a one-year contract with the New England Patriots.

    Elliott ranks third in Dallas franchise history with 8,262 rushing yards behind all-time NFL rushing leader Emmitt Smith (17,162) and Tony Dorsett (12,036).

    He is also third in team history with 68 rushing touchdowns behind Pro Football Hall of Famers Smith (153) and Dorsett (72).

    Elliott, who will turn 29 years old in July, ran for 642 yards and three touchdowns in 17 games with New England last season.

    Tony Pollard led Dallas in 2023 with 1,005 rushing yards before signing with the Tennessee Titans in March.

  • Texans wide receiver Dell shot, suffers minor wound Texans wide receiver Dell shot, suffers minor wound

    Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell was shot as an innocent bystander and sustained a minor wound outside a nightclub in Samford, Florida on Saturday night.

    The team said Dell has already been released from the hospital and is “in good spirits.”

    A total of 10 people were wounded in the shooting, but all the injuries are non-life threatening.

    Houston selected Dell in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, and the Daytona Beach, Florida native had 47 catches for 709 yards and seven touchdowns in 11 games last season.

    Dell did not play after Week 13 due to a fractured fibula.

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.