The Kansas City Chiefs began their first of two voluntary OTA sessions on Tuesday. It was a chance for the band to get back together, for the new players to get acquainted with the veterans, and to see whether Patrick Mahomes would participate. Well, guess what he did!
In December, Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL and LCL. The next day, he went under the knife to repair both. Almost immediately, he began rehab with Julie Frymyer, the Chiefs’ training guru.
Five months later, Mahomes was on the practice field, wearing a brace on his left knee, throwing footballs to his teammates. The Superhuman Quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs continues to defy the odds, and it’s another reason this man is so special.
If he never took another snap in the NFL, Patrick Mahomes would be a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee.
With three Super Bowl wins, three Super Bowl MVPs, two NFL MVPs, and five AFC Championship Game wins, his resume is insane.
Yet, he’s never suffered a major injury, and even the staunchest, most supportive fan had to doubt he could start the regular season under center. Yet he was throwing the ball around the practice field five months post-surgery.
The Chiefs have made significant changes to their coaching staff and roster ahead of the 2026 NFL season, but outside of some die-hard believers, the fact that Mahomes has been this dedicated, working out daily since the surgery, is a testament to his commitment to the Chiefs organization.
Mahomes remains the face of the NFL, and the league wants nothing more than for the Chiefs and their leader to dominate the 2026 regular season and make another Super Bowl run.
The league knows the Chiefs are a cash cow, and the fact that Mahomes is already back on the field could be why the NFL scheduled the Chiefs’ first two games of the season as back-to-back Prime Time events.
Still, Mahomes has a long way to go to be ready for the home opener against the Denver Broncos, and he’s going to need the next three-plus months to convince the trainers, coaching staff, and his teammates that he can carry the full load of the offense and that the knee is sound.
With three new coaches on the offense, including two who had never seen the competitive nature of Mahomes, Tuesday had to be a breath of fresh air for the staff and the players who participated in the OTA Session.
Kansas City has much to prove this season after missing the playoffs for the first time in the Mahomes era. Last season was a blur of madness that began in the opening week against the Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil and ended with the regular-season finale in Las Vegas.
The injury to Mahomes dampened the mood at Arrowhead, but the fact that Mahomes insisted on doing the surgery 24 hours after the injury lit a fire within the organization, one that it had better get its collective act together.
Mahomes isn’t just the floor general for the franchise; his actions lead others to follow in his footsteps and put in the work to be great again. That effort is why free-agent running back Kenneth Walker III chose the Chiefs to continue his career, and why others who joined the team as free agents on both sides of the ball did the same.
If the Chiefs can bounce back with Mahomes on the field in week one, this franchise can reclaim the top spot in the AFC. The schedule won’t make it easy, especially between October and December, when the Chiefs have just three home games between weeks 3 and 14.
Yet none of that matters now because whatever challenges lie ahead for the Chiefs will certainly be led by Mahomes, who is ahead of schedule in his comeback bid.
As fans, I suggest we just relax and enjoy the fact that Mahomes has our collective backs as he continues the dynasty he created when he became a starter back in 2018.
