Patrick Mahomes tore the ACL and LCL in his left knee in December, then apparently decided rehabilitation would become his new nine-to-five, plus a second shift. The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback spent roughly seven hours a day at the team facility working his way back, which is less “taking the offseason off” and more “clocking in before the building manager.”
The Mahomes rehab plan started almost immediately after surgery on Dec. 15 and stayed based in Kansas City instead of moving to his usual offseason throwing setup in Texas. Andy Reid said in February that Mahomes was spending “seven hours” a day at the facility, while Mahomes later explained that some days involved crushing rehab and others involved simply surviving it.
Patrick Mahomes Turned Rehab Into A Workweek Nobody Asked For
Seven hours is a long time to do anything voluntarily, especially when the activity is specifically designed to make your repaired knee uncomfortable.
A normal person can barely survive seven hours of meetings without checking Zillow, ordering lunch twice and wondering whether the fire alarm can be pulled anonymously. Mahomes was spending that time cycling through treatment, strength work, mobility and football-specific drills with assistant athletic trainer Julie Frymyer.
He also did almost all of it in Kansas City.
Mahomes said in January that he planned to complete the majority of his rehab there, and the annual informal passing camp he usually organizes in Texas did not happen. Instead of flying somewhere warm and posting golf photos, he essentially became the most famous employee at One Arrowhead Drive.
The work started with a fairly ugly timetable. Mahomes suffered the injury late in the Chiefs’ Dec. 14 loss to the Chargers, had surgery the next day and entered the winter with Week 1 far from guaranteed.
By late May, he was already throwing again during voluntary workouts. He participated in individual work and 7-on-7 periods while avoiding 11-on-11 drills, which is the NFL version of being allowed back into the office but not yet trusted with the heavy machinery.
Then came training camp.
Kansas City fully cleared Mahomes for every practice period before veterans reported in July. On July 29, he took his first 11-on-11 snaps since the injury and Reid said his legs looked strong and his feet were moving well.
That sounds routine when reduced to “Mahomes is practicing.”
It was not routine.
The Comeback Looked Easy Because The Work Happened Off Camera
ACL recoveries are often discussed like calendar math. Injury in December, rehab in spring, practice in summer, hopefully football in September.
The calendar skips the miserable part.
Mahomes described some rehab days as sore and stiff, and said Frymyer would not let him have a “get through it” day. That is probably useful when your job involves escaping 280-pound pass rushers, but it also sounds like the worst possible personal-training package.
Reid called Mahomes a great example for the rest of the roster, which feels understated for a quarterback treating physical therapy like an associate position at an investment bank.
The Chiefs are still taking his return day by day, and being cleared for camp is not the same thing as guaranteeing he will be exactly the same player in Week 1.
But Mahomes has already cleared the hardest visual test. He is back moving around, throwing downfield and participating in team periods while the knee brace slowly becomes background scenery.
The comeback looks fast because the public sees the practice clips. The seven-hour workdays explain everything that happened before them.
The post Patrick Mahomes Treated ACL Rehab Like A Full-Time Job With Overtime appeared first on BroBible.
Patrick Mahomes Treated ACL Rehab Like A Full-Time Job With Overtime
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