KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Patrick Mahomes has his sights set on returning in time for the 2026 season.
“I want to be ready for week one,” Mahomes said Thursday. “The doctor said that I could be, but I can’t predict what’s going to happen throughout the process. But that’s my goal. So I’ll try to prepare myself to be ready to play in that Week 1 and have no restrictions.
The Chiefs quarterback spoke with reporters via Zoom Thursday for the first time since tearing his ACL Dec. 14 against the Chargers.
He underwent knee surgery in Dallas the following day.
“Rehab’s going great so far,” he said. “Just hitting all the checkpoints that the doctor wants you to do and getting the strength and the range of mobility back. So that’s been going great.”
The Cowboys’ head physician, Dr. Dan Cooper, performed the surgery to repair his ACL and LCL.
He’s now eyeing a “ballpark” nine-month recovery, according to Chiefs Vice President of Sports Medicine and Performance Rick Burkholder.
“Everything else was clean,” Mahomes said. “As bad as it was, it was as clean as it could be. I found out there’s a lot of little things that could happen around that knee that I had never even known. So, I was lucky enough, God blessed me enough, to not do some of those little things that could prolong the injury.”
Mahomes will spend the majority of his time rehabbing in Kansas City with team athletic trainer Julie Frymyer.
Thursday, he reflected on the moment the injury happened as the Chiefs fought to stay alive in the postseason hunt.
With Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) blocking for him, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) is tackled by Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley (0) while running the ball in for a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025 in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)(Reed Hoffmann | AP)
“Obviously, I knew something had happened,” Mahomes said. “But once I was able to walk a little bit, I thought I might have a chance to kind of get back into the game. You kind of go into the tent, they do the test, and they want to take you back to the locker room. And so you don’t know for sure and everything like that.
“But when I was able to move, I asked one of the doctors if I could get a brace and just finish the game, but they wouldn’t let me.”
The Chiefs went on to lose to the Chargers, eliminating them from playoff contention in the process for the first time in 11 years.
“I mean, it’s hard to watch these playoff games,” Mahomes said. “So we’ll be in the building and you’ll try to build that camaraderie that way, just doing stuff around Kansas City, maybe taking to some Royals games or whatever, wherever that is, and try to build those relationships with those guys.”
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