Chiefs consulted renowned baseball doctors about Patrick Mahomes' elbow, sources say

The Kansas City Chiefs left nothing to chance when evaluating Patrick Mahomes' injured elbow this week, consulting two of baseball's most respected arm specialists in addition to their own team doctors, sources told ESPN.

The physicians found that Mahomes suffered a muscle strain as well as what one source described as "a very small sprain of his UCL." All of the doctors believed it was safe for him to resume playing, despite the soreness that required treatment throughout the week.

Now, after a week of practice in which he took all of the throws, Mahomes is expected to start Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.

The Chiefs turned to baseball doctors because they felt elbow injuries are dealt with far more often in baseball than in football. They also knew they could not send a $500 million player to just any doctors. They wanted the best and brightest examining the images of an elbow that valuable.

Rick Burkholder, the Chiefs' vice president of sports medicine and performance, reached out to Dr. Vincent Key shortly after Kansas City's victory over the New York Jets last Sunday. Key is the Royals' head team physician and specializes in Tommy John surgery and newer UCL repair techniques.

Key reviewed the scans and, according to a source, felt the Chiefs and Mahomes "got away with one." He also recommended that another noted doctor examine the images, so Dr. Keith Meister, the Rangers' team physician and orthopedic consultant, was contacted Sunday night. Meister, one of baseball's best-known orthopedic surgeons specializing in elbow and shoulder injuries, offered a similar sentiment.

Both Key and Meister acted urgently in reviewing the scans, and both agreed the two-time MVP had suffered more of a muscle strain and that the damage could have been significantly worse, according to sources.

Until all the doctors had studied the images and weighed in, the Chiefs were concerned about the condition of Mahomes' elbow. They knew he had stayed in the game, and they knew his history of playing through assorted injuries, but they worried about what might be found afterward.

Just last week, Arizona Cardinals quarterback Gardner Minshew was injured on a play that looked similar to the one in which Mahomes was hurt against the Jets. Minshew suffered a torn UCL and is expected to undergo season-ending surgery, sources said. He is still working on the timing of the procedure but is planning to have it.