{"id":933924,"date":"2026-07-01T17:15:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T17:15:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/933924\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T17:15:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T17:15:25","slug":"kansas-city-chiefs-qb-patrick-mahomes-opens-up-about-dec-2025-brutal-knee-injurys-recovery-with-gq-nfl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/933924\/","title":{"rendered":"Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes opens up about Dec 2025 brutal knee injury\u2019s recovery with GQ | NFL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"KansasKansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes opens up about Dec. 2025 brutal knee injury\u2019s rehab and recovery with GQ (Image via Instagram: Patrick Mahomes, Brittany Mahomes, and their kids) Last year\u2019s GQ muse was Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. This year, it is star quarterback, Patrick Mahomes<\/a>. December 2025 is etched into Chiefs fans\u2019 minds like never before, particularly because their favorite signal-caller was brutally injured.When GQ photographed and interviewed Patrick Mahomes, the question about his 2025 season-ending injury rehab was inevitable. \u201cI\u2019m almost seven months out now. It\u2019s a lot of work. But I\u2019ve gotten used to it now,\u201d said the Kansas City heartbeat.<\/p>\n

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes addresses season ending knee injury and recovery with GQ<\/p>\n

Kansas City Chiefs\u2019 Super Bowl hope Patrick Mahomes suffered a torn left ACL and LCL in Dec. 2025 while playing against Justin Herbert<\/a>\u2019s team, the Los Angeles Chargers. He underwent a successful reconstructive surgery in Dallas shortly after the injury. The surgery was performed by the Dallas Cowboys\u2019 head team physician, Dr. Dan Cooper. An ACL\/LCL tear usually takes 9 to 12 months to recover. His recovery timeline places him ready for September 2026 to December 2026. The season opener is on September 14, 2026, against Bo Nix\u2019s team – the Denver Broncos. The game will take place at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on a Monday Night Football showdown. The fierce quarterback feels more than ready to take on the Broncos!Speaking to GQ magazine, the father-of-three said his rehab is progressing well. He is seven months into the recovery timeline. The daily routine seems demanding for him, but he is trying his level best to settle into it and focus on undeterred consistency. He feels grateful to his family [wife Brittany Mahomes] and trainers for keeping him constantly motivated. And he certainly believes he\u2019ll be ready to take on the Denver Broncos!\u201cIt\u2019s going good,\u201d Mahomes said. \u201cI\u2019m almost seven months out now. It\u2019s a lot of work, but I\u2019ve gotten used to it now. Now it\u2019s just being consistent and doing it every day. And it helps having people that I like who are pushing me to do that. My trainers in the facility, outside of the facility, and then my family supporting me. I\u2019m trying to be ready to go with one, so I can stay on top of it.\u201dTalking about his brutal knee injury, the three-time Super Bowl champion said that Dec. 2025 was his first major injury. He has dealt with turf toe, which sidelined him for three months. But the ACL tear was his first major injury to have him out for long.\u201cYeah, I had turf toe, which is an injury \u2013 I was out three months with that,\u201d Mahomes said. \u201cBut [this is] the first major injury that\u2019s kept me out for a long time, and I\u2019ve missed a lot of games.\u201dKansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered the same type of turf toe injury that sidelined Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow<\/a> for two months and six days during the 2025 season. Although the severity differed — Burrow had a severe Grade 3 turf toe while Mahomes suffered a Grade 1 injury — both quarterbacks shared a similar determination to recover quickly. Nevertheless, a torn ACL is the most brutal injury for an NFL player to endure. It not only caused Mahomes to miss games, but it also severely affected his everyday life.<\/p>\n

Patrick Mahomes could not play with his three beautiful children due to knee injury<\/p>\n

The \u201ceveryday life\u201d part where Mahomes could not play with his three beautiful children<\/a> \u2013 Sterling Skye Mahomes, Patrick \u201cBronze\u201d Lavon Mahomes III, and Golden Raye Mahomes. This part was much harder for him to process because he probably recognizes that his kids\u2019 tender age, when the parents pick them up frequently\/easily, won\u2019t last\u2026Not being able to spend time with them hurt him more than watching the Kansas City Chiefs battle for the playoffs from home.\u201cIt s*cked during the season and watching the playoffs,\u201d Mahomes said. \u201cAnd then some of the day-to-day life things I wasn\u2019t able to do with my kids. So that was definitely tough.\u201d <\/p>\n

ACL tears in NBA vs NFL<\/p>\n

When GQ asked Mahomes about NFL players returning to the gridiron after ACL injuries quicker than NBA players, he said it all came down to movement demands. Basketball players are always on the move; they constantly run, cut, and put stress on their knees. NFL quarterbacks, on the other hand, can control their movements and do not run continuously on the gridiron. Because of this, he feels that the typical ACL recovery timeline fits his situation perfectly. And he expects to be ready for the start of the season.\u201cI think part of it is the position you play and how you move,\u201d Mahomes said. \u201cAnd then NBA players are so much bigger, height-wise \u2013 their ligaments are longer and stuff like that. They play so much more on their feet and moving around. Whereas at quarterback, I do have sudden movements and stuff like that, but I control where I\u2019m at. I\u2019m not always running. The timeline is usually 9 to 12 months \u2013 the start of the season\u2019s going to be nine. I\u2019m tracking that way right now.\u201d