diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/kubelet.go b/pkg/kubelet/kubelet.go
index 4fedb38f2aa..3afbd6b21e4 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/kubelet.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/kubelet.go
@@ -1889,7 +1889,7 @@ func (kl *Kubelet) SyncPod(_ context.Context, updateType kubetypes.SyncPodType,
 		// TODO(vinaykul,InPlacePodVerticalScaling): Investigate doing this in HandlePodUpdates + periodic SyncLoop scan
 		//     See: https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/102884#discussion_r663160060
 		if kl.podWorkers.CouldHaveRunningContainers(pod.UID) && !kubetypes.IsStaticPod(pod) {
-			kl.handlePodResourcesResize(pod)
+			pod = kl.handlePodResourcesResize(pod)
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -2631,13 +2631,14 @@ func (kl *Kubelet) canResizePod(pod *v1.Pod) (bool, *v1.Pod, v1.PodResizeStatus)
 		klog.ErrorS(err, "getNodeAnyway function failed")
 		return false, nil, ""
 	}
+	podCopy := pod.DeepCopy()
 	cpuAvailable := node.Status.Allocatable.Cpu().MilliValue()
 	memAvailable := node.Status.Allocatable.Memory().Value()
-	cpuRequests := resource.GetResourceRequest(pod, v1.ResourceCPU)
-	memRequests := resource.GetResourceRequest(pod, v1.ResourceMemory)
+	cpuRequests := resource.GetResourceRequest(podCopy, v1.ResourceCPU)
+	memRequests := resource.GetResourceRequest(podCopy, v1.ResourceMemory)
 	if cpuRequests > cpuAvailable || memRequests > memAvailable {
-		klog.V(3).InfoS("Resize is not feasible as request exceeds allocatable node resources", "pod", pod.Name)
-		return false, nil, v1.PodResizeStatusInfeasible
+		klog.V(3).InfoS("Resize is not feasible as request exceeds allocatable node resources", "pod", podCopy.Name)
+		return false, podCopy, v1.PodResizeStatusInfeasible
 	}
 
 	// Treat the existing pod needing resize as a new pod with desired resources seeking admit.
@@ -2649,13 +2650,12 @@ func (kl *Kubelet) canResizePod(pod *v1.Pod) (bool, *v1.Pod, v1.PodResizeStatus)
 		}
 	}
 
-	if ok, failReason, failMessage := kl.canAdmitPod(otherActivePods, pod); !ok {
+	if ok, failReason, failMessage := kl.canAdmitPod(otherActivePods, podCopy); !ok {
 		// Log reason and return. Let the next sync iteration retry the resize
-		klog.V(3).InfoS("Resize cannot be accommodated", "pod", pod.Name, "reason", failReason, "message", failMessage)
-		return false, nil, v1.PodResizeStatusDeferred
+		klog.V(3).InfoS("Resize cannot be accommodated", "pod", podCopy.Name, "reason", failReason, "message", failMessage)
+		return false, podCopy, v1.PodResizeStatusDeferred
 	}
 
-	podCopy := pod.DeepCopy()
 	for _, container := range podCopy.Spec.Containers {
 		idx, found := podutil.GetIndexOfContainerStatus(podCopy.Status.ContainerStatuses, container.Name)
 		if found {
@@ -2667,9 +2667,9 @@ func (kl *Kubelet) canResizePod(pod *v1.Pod) (bool, *v1.Pod, v1.PodResizeStatus)
 	return true, podCopy, v1.PodResizeStatusInProgress
 }
 
-func (kl *Kubelet) handlePodResourcesResize(pod *v1.Pod) {
+func (kl *Kubelet) handlePodResourcesResize(pod *v1.Pod) *v1.Pod {
 	if pod.Status.Phase != v1.PodRunning {
-		return
+		return pod
 	}
 	podResized := false
 	for _, container := range pod.Spec.Containers {
@@ -2691,31 +2691,35 @@ func (kl *Kubelet) handlePodResourcesResize(pod *v1.Pod) {
 		}
 	}
 	if !podResized {
-		return
+		return pod
 	}
 
 	kl.podResizeMutex.Lock()
 	defer kl.podResizeMutex.Unlock()
 	fit, updatedPod, resizeStatus := kl.canResizePod(pod)
+	if updatedPod == nil {
+		return pod
+	}
 	if fit {
 		// Update pod resource allocation checkpoint
 		if err := kl.statusManager.SetPodAllocation(updatedPod); err != nil {
 			//TODO(vinaykul,InPlacePodVerticalScaling): Can we recover from this in some way? Investigate
-			klog.ErrorS(err, "SetPodAllocation failed", "pod", klog.KObj(pod))
+			klog.ErrorS(err, "SetPodAllocation failed", "pod", klog.KObj(updatedPod))
+			return pod
 		}
-		*pod = *updatedPod
 	}
 	if resizeStatus != "" {
 		// Save resize decision to checkpoint
-		if err := kl.statusManager.SetPodResizeStatus(pod.UID, resizeStatus); err != nil {
+		if err := kl.statusManager.SetPodResizeStatus(updatedPod.UID, resizeStatus); err != nil {
 			//TODO(vinaykul,InPlacePodVerticalScaling): Can we recover from this in some way? Investigate
-			klog.ErrorS(err, "SetPodResizeStatus failed", "pod", klog.KObj(pod))
+			klog.ErrorS(err, "SetPodResizeStatus failed", "pod", klog.KObj(updatedPod))
+			return pod
 		}
-		pod.Status.Resize = resizeStatus
+		updatedPod.Status.Resize = resizeStatus
 	}
-	kl.podManager.UpdatePod(pod)
-	kl.statusManager.SetPodStatus(pod, pod.Status)
-	return
+	kl.podManager.UpdatePod(updatedPod)
+	kl.statusManager.SetPodStatus(updatedPod, updatedPod.Status)
+	return updatedPod
 }
 
 // LatestLoopEntryTime returns the last time in the sync loop monitor.
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/kubelet_test.go b/pkg/kubelet/kubelet_test.go
index 8d50c9ec189..57b31b7c1c7 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/kubelet_test.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/kubelet_test.go
@@ -2585,8 +2585,10 @@ func TestHandlePodResourcesResize(t *testing.T) {
 		tt.pod.Spec.Containers[0].Resources.Requests = tt.newRequests
 		tt.pod.Status.ContainerStatuses[0].AllocatedResources = v1.ResourceList{v1.ResourceCPU: cpu1000m, v1.ResourceMemory: mem1000M}
 		kubelet.handlePodResourcesResize(tt.pod)
-		assert.Equal(t, tt.expectedAllocations, tt.pod.Status.ContainerStatuses[0].AllocatedResources, tt.name)
-		assert.Equal(t, tt.expectedResize, tt.pod.Status.Resize, tt.name)
+		updatedPod, found := kubelet.podManager.GetPodByName(tt.pod.Namespace, tt.pod.Name)
+		assert.True(t, found, "expected to find pod %s", tt.pod.Name)
+		assert.Equal(t, tt.expectedAllocations, updatedPod.Status.ContainerStatuses[0].AllocatedResources, tt.name)
+		assert.Equal(t, tt.expectedResize, updatedPod.Status.Resize, tt.name)
 		testKubelet.fakeKubeClient.ClearActions()
 	}
 }