Mahomes injures ankle, unsure about availability

CLEVELAND -- Minutes after being removed from Sunday's game because of an injured right ankle, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said he was unclear whether he would be available to play next Saturday against the Houston Texans.

"It's hard to say right now,'' Mahomes said after the Chiefs' 21-7 victory against the Cleveland Browns. "You still [have the] adrenaline rolling and usually it's kind of the day after when you kind of get a good sense of it. I feel like I could have finished the game in different circumstances, but I thought the smart decision ... was to put Carson Wentz in.

"... You just do what you have to do to get back, and I think that's the most important thing. And now we just get back to the rehab part, the treatment part, and try to get ourselves ready on a short week against a good football team."

Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Mahomes' ankle was not broken.

"It's sore and he'll get started on the rehab part of it as we go and then we'll just have to see how he does down the road here,'' Reid said.

Mahomes was removed midway through the fourth quarter after getting hit while throwing a fourth-down pass that was incomplete. The Chiefs were ahead 21-7 at the time, and Wentz finished the game. Mahomes remained on the sideline until the conclusion of the game and was limping as he walked off the field to the locker room.

Reid also said Mahomes could have stayed in the game, adding, "There was no need for that."

"He wanted to fight about it, but we've got a good support there behind him with Carson and it was good to get him a few reps in there too and let our guys hear that snap count in case he has to go,'' Reid said.

On the play, Mahomes was dragged down from behind by Cleveland defender Dalvin Tomlinson while also getting hit high by Mike Hall.

"I was trying to run up in the pocket, obviously fourth down, trying to make a play happen," Mahomes said. "And as I threw the ball, I kind of got hit -- and I haven't seen it -- but it felt like someone hit me from behind as well. And so I kind of just got rolled up on. It kind of happens in football, and so I tried to bounce back up but obviously, it hurt a little bit. But now we'll just get after the rehab part of it and try to be ready for next week.

"I thought the defense was playing really well and I wanted to go back out there, and I probably would've fought a little bit harder if they would've got the game to one score [margin]. But I have a lot of trust in Carson, too. ... We put him out there and I thought he did a great job moving the football, running time off the clock and putting us in a position to win the football game."

Mahomes was 19-of-38 for 159 yards and two touchdowns before leaving the game. Mahomes was hit on several pass attempts and was pressured 21 times, according to ESPN Research.

"You've just got to trust the offense," Mahomes said. "... I've just got to do a better job of going through my progressions and trusting the offense, getting the ball out of my hands and letting guys make plays. And my nature is to try to make the big play happen, and sometimes defenses stop that and then when it's not there, go for the underneath stuff and keep it moving."

On each of the two possessions before the injury, the Chiefs, with a two-touchdown lead, went three-and-out with six incomplete passes, leading Reid to defend his playcalling after the game.

"You've got to be able to throw the ball in this league,'' Reid said. "Some of our runs didn't work too well either, so we've got to make sure we clean that up and get that going. That's where I can kind of give him [better plays], do a better job there for him.''