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Kansas City Chiefs vice president of sports medicine and performance Rick Burkholder provided a rough timeline of Patrick Mahomes’ return from a torn ACL on Wednesday.
Mahomes suffered the injury during the Chiefs’ loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. It was later revealed that Mahomes also tore his LCL. Burkholder suggested the quarterback has a long, uncertain road to recovery ahead of him.
“Every player is different, every sport is different, every position is different and with [Mahomes] Traditionally, you try so hard and are so in tune with what you’re doing that you do it a little faster. The rough estimate for this is nine months. It could be one or two months less or one or two more,” Burkholder told reporters.
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“You never know what happens and everyone is designed differently mechanically, so you just have to go through it, and then he has the specific things he needs to do in his position. So now, I’ll give you this: At the beginning of the rehab phase we’re doing a lot to get his muscles activated and the swelling down and right now he’s in a protective brace for all that surgery to heal.”
The doctor also suggested that Mahomes’ structured lifestyle could result in a faster recovery than the average player.
“As you know, as a player, his mentality is a little different than most. He’s so regimented in what he does, he’s here at six in the morning, he’s the last one out at night. He’ll take rehab that way,” Burkholder added.
“He and I talked, listen, you have a schedule right now in the season where you’re getting treatment right now, you’re filming right now, you’re practicing, that’s how rehabs came to be and that’s how it’s always been with him and that’s how it’s going to be. When you add up all the little things, that allows the player to come back faster. They don’t heal faster, they just get back to performance faster.”
Mahomes has a history of returning from injury sooner than expected.
PATRICK MAHOMES SUFFERS BRUTAL KNEE INJURY AS CHIEFS ELIMINATE FROM PLAYOFF CONTAINMENT
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) battles during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, December 14, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
He famously played with a dislocated kneecap in 2019 and only missed two games. In that year’s postseason, he suffered toe and ankle problems and played through severe pain to win Super Bowl LIV. Mahomes then played through a severely sprained ankle in the 2022 playoffs to win his second Super Bowl.
Mahomes underwent a surgical procedure performed in Dallas by Dr. Dan Cooper on Monday night to address both the LCL and ACL. The good news for Mahomes is that he suffered no damage to his arteries, nerves, joint surfaces or menisci.
Burkholder said advanced medical technology was used in the procedure.
“There are new surgical techniques and I think the bigger and faster these guys get, the more you see injuries like this,” Burkholder said.
“So doctors are better at doing it and certainly we all selected a doctor who did this surgery in the past and did some techniques based on what was there, which are unique to the case, so sometimes you have to use a graft on the lateral collateral ligament. [Dr. Cooper’ didn’t have to do that because he has advanced techniques. And the same way with rehab, we have gotten a lot better at rehabilitation and the athletes have gotten way better at nutrition and recovery and all the things that go with it.”
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid expressed optimism for Mahomes’ recovery and said the quarterback will split time between Kansas City and Dallas as he rehabs.
“He’s a pretty fast healer that way and his attitude, that’s about 90% of how you go about it (and) how willing are you to push through the pain of getting it right,” Reid said.
“He’s got a great relationship with [Assistant Athletic Trainer[ Julie [Frymyer]and I imagine that would be the main one and then if I went to Dallas to visit or change scenery for a minute, I think most of it would be done with Julie. “She looks after him when he has different injuries or maintenance things, so I guess she’ll be here most of the time.”
After Mahomes’ injury in the fourth quarter, backup Gardner Minshew was unable to get the offense into field goal range for Harrison Butker to attempt a potential field goal that would force overtime. With the 16-13 defeat against Los Angeles Chargersthe Chiefs were eliminated from playoff contention.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes clutches his knee after being injured during the second half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Kansas City, Missouri. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)
It will be the first time since 2014 that the Chiefs have not been in the playoffs, and many consider it the end of the “dynasty” that has made three consecutive appearances in the Super Bowl, winning two of them before falling to the Philadelphia Eagles last year.
The Chiefs will evaluate their roster over the next three games, which includes Minshew starting the rest of the center. But all eyes will be focused on Mahomes this offseason, as it’s a bitter end to a rollercoaster season for Kansas City.
