National Football League

Patrick Mahomes says he's 'feeling good,' injured ankle is 'great'

Updated Feb. 6, 2023 11:07 p.m. ET

PHOENIX — Patrick Mahomes revealed on Monday night that his injured right ankle will not keep him out of Super Bowl LVII, which was neither a shock nor a surprise, but can still lay claim to being the most important news of the week.

"It is great," Mahomes said, in response to the inevitable first question of his Opening Night interview session. "Feeling good."

Given the gravity of the contest, it was going to take something truly drastic to prevent the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback from playing on Sunday. Even so, his positive reaction to the unavoidable line of inquiry will undoubtedly be a source of optimism for fans of the AFC champs.

Mahomes sustained a high ankle sprain during the Chiefs' divisional round victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Jan. 21, a condition which typically has a full recovery window of up to eight weeks.

He played hurt against the Cincinnati Bengals a week later and was clearly restricted, but had enough willpower and pain tolerance to make the last-ditch scramble that set up Harrison Butker's decisive field goal.

"The motivating factor is to be the best," Mahomes added. "You are in the biggest game of your life. You want to go out there and make memories with your teammates."

The Chiefs have remained tight-lipped about the rehabilitation process Mahomes has been and will continue to go through heading into the weekend, but suffice to say the franchise will do whatever it can to enhance his mobility and comfort before taking on the Eagles' fearsome defense.

"I give it everything I have and I believe if I do that for that the rest of this week and going into this game, we will come out with a win," Mahomes said. "And if we don't I know I gave everything I had, and that's something I can live with."

Patrick Mahomes on preparing for Super Bowl, impact of winning another title and more

Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes hit on a variety of topics including how much this Super Bowl matters and the impact of the game featuring two black starting QBs.

With so much of Mahomes' dual-option threat predicated on his footwork and speed, nervousness is rampant within the Chiefs' fan base, even after his performance against Cincinnati.

There were times against the Bengals when he looked severely hindered. Will two weeks of extra recuperation, plus his ferocious desire to win, be enough to enable him to operate at close to full capacity?

"You never know if you're going to have this opportunity again, so I want to have no regrets," Mahomes said, while adding that he learned far more from his solitary Super Bowl defeat against Tampa Bay than from his victory over San Francisco in early 2020.

"The loss for sure," he said. "The win is amazing. That loss it stings, that motivates you for years. That's motivated me to get back to this game. I want to be sure I'm getting that winning feeling, not that losing feeling."

Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider newsletter. Follow him on Twitter @MRogersFOX and subscribe to the daily newsletter.

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