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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 Mahomes also tore his LCL. Burkholder suggested the quarterback has a long and uncertain recovery road ahead of him.
“Every player is different, every sport is different, every position is different and with [Mahomes] traditionally he’s going after it so hard and he’s so in tune with what he does, he does it a little quicker. Ballpark on this thing is nine months. It could be a month or two less or a month or two more,” Burkholder told reporters.
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“You never know what goes on and everybody is designed differently by mechanically, so you just have to go through it, and then he’s got position specific things that he needs to do. So right now, I’ll give you this, early on in the rehab phase we’re doing a lot to get his muscles firing and get the swelling down and he’s in a protective brace right now so that all that surgery heals in.”
The doctor also suggested Mahomes’ structured lifestyle could result in a faster recovery than the average player.
“As you guys know, as a player, his mindset is a little different than most. He’s so regimented in what he does, he’s in here at six a.m., he’s the last guy out at night. He’ll take the rehab like that,” Burkholder added.
“He and I talked about, listen you have a schedule right now in season where you get treatment at this time, film at this time, practice – that’s how rehabs got to be and that’s how it’s always been with him and it will. When you add up all the little things, that allows the player to get back faster. They don’t heal up any 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 ELIMINATED FROM PLAYOFF CONTENTION
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) scrambles during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Kansas City, Missouri. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
He famously played through a dislocated kneecap in 2019 and missed only two games. In that year’s postseason, he suffered turf toe/ankle issues and played through severe pain to win Super Bowl LIV. Mahomes then played through a severe ankle sprain 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 artery damage, no nerve damage, no joint surface damage and no meniscal damage.
Burkholder said advanced medical technology was used in the procedure.
“There’s new techniques out there surgically, and I think the bigger and faster these guys are the more you see injuries like this,” Burkholder said.
“So, the doctors are better at doing it and certainly we all selected a doctor whose done this surgery in the past and he 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 would imagine that would be the primary one and then if he were to go to Dallas to visit or have a change of scenery for a minute, I think the majority of it will be done with Julie. She kind of takes care of him when he’s had his different injuries or maintenance stuff, so I would presume he will be here a majority 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 possible overtime-forcing field goal. With the 16-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, the Chiefs were eliminated from playoff contention.
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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes grabs 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 the Chiefs are not in the playoffs, and many clock it as the end of the “dynasty” that has made three straight Super Bowl appearances, winning two of them before falling to the Philadelphia Eagles last year.
The Chiefs will be evaluating their roster over the next three games, which includes Minshew starting the rest of the way under center. But all eyes will be focused on Mahomes this offseason, as it’s a bitter end to a roller-coaster season for Kansas City.
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