Patrick Mahomes tried to give it a go for the Kansas City Chiefs for Sunday's game against the Minnesota Vikings, but Kansas City didn't want to put its franchise quarterback at risk. Mahomes will have to wait at least another week for his highly anticipated return as he was officially ruled inactive by the Chiefs for Sunday's showdown with the Vikings.
Mahomes was unlikely to play in this one as the Chiefs had prepared to have Matt Moore start at quarterback for the second consecutive week. The Chiefs put Mahomes through a pregame workout to see if he could play, but decided to "play it safe."
Mahomes was initially projected to return in Week 10 against the Tennessee Titans, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, just 24 days after suffering the dislocated kneecap that was expected to keep him out 4-to-6 weeks. Mahomes was a limited participant in practice this week and officially listed as questionable for the game.
The Chiefs prepared for this move, dotting all i's and crossing the t's whether or not Mahomes did play. Kansas City activated Chad Henne off injured reserve and correspondingly waived quarterback Kyle Shurmur. Henne, who is questionable for Sunday's game, was slated to be the No. 2 quarterback for Mahomes before fracturing his ankle in August, prompting the team to sign Matt Moore, who has filled in for Mahomes since the reigning MVP dislocated his kneecap on Oct. 17.
Moore went 24 of 36 for 267 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions in his first start for Mahomes last week, as the Chiefs scored 24 points in the final three quarters in a 31-24 loss to the Green Bay Packers. At the very least, he'll get one more start before Mahomes returns to the field.
