Mahomes begins rehab after surgery, eyes Week 1 return in 2026

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has begun rehab following surgery to repair two torn ligaments in his left knee, and the team is optimistic the two-time MVP could be back early next season — perhaps even by the time Kansas City plays Week 1.Rick Burkholder, their vice president of sports medicine and performance, said Wednesday the procedure performed in Dallas by Dr. Dan Cooper on Monday night went well. The operation happened about 24 hours after Mahomes tore his ACL and LCL in a loss to the Chargers.The recovery time for such an injury is about ninth months, though it could vary by several months depending on various factors. Next season is expected to kick off September 10, 2026, and the Chiefs could play their first game a few days later."Every player is different. Every sport is different. Every position is different," Burkholder said. "(Mahomes) is so in tune to what he does, he does it a little quicker. Ballpark on this is nine months, but it could be a month or two more, a month or two less."The loss to the Chargers eliminated the Chiefs from postseason contention, ending that streak at a decade. They had also won the past nine AFC West titles, reached the previous seven conference championship games and played in the past three Super Bowls.Now, backup Gardner Minshew will quarterback them through the final three games beginning Sunday at Tennessee.As for Mahomes, he plans to return to Kansas City by Friday, where he will continue rehabbing with Burkholder's staff. Leading the effort will be Julie Frymyer, his assistant trainer and top physical therapist, whose name made headlines during the 2022-23 playoffs for her role in helping Mahomes overcome a severe high-ankle sprain without having to miss a game.Frymyer was even featured alongside Mahomes recently in a State Farm insurance commercial."I think you guys know, as a player, his mindset is a little different than most," Burkholder said. "He's so regimented in what he does. He's in here at 6 a.m. He's the last guy out at night. He'll take the rehab like that. When you add up all the little things, that allows the player to get back faster. They don't heal up faster, they just get back to performance faster."Reid said he's spoken daily with Mahomes since the injury in the closing minutes of Sunday's game."He's so positive right now," Reid said. "Like Rick said, he attacked this thing the day of. You wouldn't expect anything less. 'Get me up, get me going,' he's basically saying, an hour after the game. 'Brace me up and let me go.' It's not one of those injuries, obviously, but that's his mindset. I think he'll do great with the rehab. "He's a pretty fast healer that way. And his attitude is 90% of things, how you go about it. How you're willing to push through the pain to get right."