Sources - Baseball doctors consulted on Patrick Mahomes' elbow - ESPN

When it came to reviewing the scans of Patrick Mahomes elbow this past week, the Kansas City Chiefs covered all their bases — literally.

In addition to their own doctors reviewing scans of Mahomes' elbow, the Chiefs branched out and had renowned doctors from the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers offer second and third opinions, sources told ESPN.

Doctors found that Mahomes suffered a muscle strain and also what one source described as «a very small sprain of his UCL.»

All doctors believed that it was safe for Mahomes to resume playing, despite the fact that he was sore and continued receiving treatment throughout the week.

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

The Chiefs turned to baseball doctors because they felt those doctors deal with elbow injuries more in baseball than in football. The Chiefs knew that they could not send a $500 million player like Mahomes to just any doctors — they wanted the best and brightest to examine the images of an elbow as valuable as Mahomes'.

The two individuals with deep ties to baseball that the Chiefs turned to were Dr. Vincent Key, the Royals' head team physician who specializes in Tommy John surgery and newer UCL repair techniques, and Dr. Keith Meister, the Rangers' team physician and orthopedic consultant, who is one of baseball's best-known orthopedic surgeons specializing in elbow and shoulder injuries.

Rick Burkholder, the Chiefs' vice president of sports medicine and performance, reached out to Key shortly after Kansas City's victory last Sunday over the New York Jets. Key reviewed the scans and, according to a source, felt like the Chiefs and Mahomes «got away with one.» But he also