In September, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will be a thirty-something starter in the NFL. Entering his eighth NFL season, the three-time Super Bowl champion spoke to the media and engaged in plenty of self-reflection as he prepares for the 2025 season.
With OTA sessions underway, most of the Kansas City Chiefs roster was present for Andy Reid’s practice. While there were a few notable absences, these workouts are voluntary, and overall, the Chiefs players have high attendance.
One player who has not missed a session is quarterback Patrick Mahomes. He has become a staple leader in the offseason, working with his receivers, tight ends, and running backs in Texas to familiarize himself with their on-field habits and personalities off the field.
In speaking with the media on Thursday, he mentioned having some new teammates on offense. When asked about that process, he reflected on his desire to get to know them as people before considering them teammates.
Mahomes is not cut from the same cloth as other NFL quarterbacks. Now, as he approaches 30 years old in September, his priorities are intact, and the work ethic needed to lead his team is evident.
With three young children at home, three Super Bowl rings, and on the verge of starting his eighth season as an NFL quarterback, he seems prepared for the challenges of the next chapter in his remarkable career. He has already secured his place in Canton and is destined to be remembered as one of the top three quarterbacks of all time, yet he continues to be anything but satisfied.
“It’s hard. I feel like I focus every year because I know how special of a run that we’re on and how many years left I’ll have with all these great players and a great team, and every team is different, and you don’t want to miss an opportunity,” Mahomes said.
Last season, his teammates missed the chance to become the first three-peat champions in Super Bowl history. The defeat handed to them by the Philadelphia Eagles will motivate this team as they head into the 2025 season. He and Travis Kelce are the leaders on offense. Though Kelce didn’t show his face today, he has been working out inside the complex.
For Mahomes, he has some new weapons, and not only does he have to mentor them on the field; he also has a process that has served him well since becoming a starter in 2018.
“I always want to meet the person first. So, it’s about getting to know the person and seeing what I can do to help them get better and help them push forward, because it is hard. It starts with OTAs, but going through training camp and going through a long NFL season is hard. You want the guys to know that you care about them, so you care about them as a person first. Then, you mentor them on the field by pushing them to be better every day,” he stated.
Mahomes has transformed the culture of the Chiefs and is as close to an ambassador for the NFL as one player can get. He’s the NFL’s equivalent of Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky. The three GOATs share one trait: they are driven leaders who are as competitive as any players in the history of their respective leagues.
The key for this team, however, will be how they recover from that Super Bowl loss and how strongly they rally around their leader.
“I think it’ll be good for us at the end of the day. I mean obviously looking back you want to win the game, but a lot of those guys hadn’t lost one. (They) hadn’t ended a season on a loss that are on this team now so I’m sure they’ll be motivated to go back out there and try to find a way to get to the Super Bowl and win it this year.”
The journey to return to the Super Bowl starts now, and Mahomes knows what it takes. His new players, especially on offense, will learn this as their redemption tour begins now.
