December 14, 2025, marked a dark day for the Kansas City Chiefs community as their star quarterback Patrick Mahomes hyperextended his left knee and tore his ACL and LCL during the game against the Los Angeles Chargers. The game ultimately ended with a loss for the Chiefs, as Mahomes limped off the field. And with that, all hope went out for the team.
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With football season officially underway, all eyes will be on Mahomes, who will be playing the 2026 opener against the Denver Broncos. His mother, Randi Mahomes, has witnessed the pressure behind this journey firsthand.
“It is a lot,” Randi said at an event, via Starcade Media. “It’s finally when I’m like, smooth it out, rolling, then I’m like, ‘Okay, what is God handing us now?’ But it’s only made him stronger. It’s made him focused in different areas that maybe he wasn’t focused on before. And just seeing all the support and love and the players from everybody… Of course, I’m a mom at home praying and trying to do what I can. But just knowing that and really feeling it, and seeing this progress…”
It has been a non-stop and rigorus offseason for the quarterback. He went under the knife the day after he was injured, and was up on his feet to practice throwing began practicing throwing only a 100 days later. general manager Brett Veach further claimed that he took a trainer with him whenever he traveled outside of Kansas City. Head coach Andy Reid revealed that Mahomes spent seven hours a day in rehabilitation after going under the knife to repair his ligaments.
All to get back on the field in time for Week 1.
“He’s shown everything there,” Reid said, via KMBC. “He hasn’t missed a day, as you know, and you guys have seen him out there, so you know what it looks like with him running around and doing his stuff. He doesn’t have a brace on his leg and everything looks normal, running around the same way he’s always done and throwing the way he’s always done. So we’ll be fine there.”
For Mahomes, it was all about the competition. With the entire home crowd cheering for him, there’s no way he wouldn’t give it his all.
“That’s what makes me who I am,” Mahomes said. “I just love competing. Playing quarterback is one thing, but you’ve got to love competing to have success in this league. I’ll try not to lay any blocks [in the open field], hopefully – unless it’s needed.”
“I’ll have that at the maximum [support] here at Arrowhead [Stadium]. The place will be rocking. I think that’ll get me even more of a bump, more of an energy boost to go out there and be the best version of myself.”
The medical staff cleared him for the Week 1 game without any restrictions earlier this month. Since then, the football community has been relentlessly asking about an update on his knee. But Mahomes has had enough of it.
“Just the pressure that he’s had,” Randi continued. “And I told him, like, I’m kind of happy that he was like, ‘Okay, maybe this is the last question about my knee.’ I even joked with him about that. I do get it. But at the same time, you have all these people out there praying for you and rooting for you. That’s what made him fall in love with football. [It] was the people that were supporting him.”
Interestingly, Mahomes’ situation is lining up to a chillingly similar point in Tom Brady’s career. Like the Chiefs star, Brady also injured his ACL in his ninth year. However, he had the luxury of resting for the entirety of the 2008 season to return and post nearly 4,400 receiving yards in 2009. Mahomes is going to return without having the luxury of a year off, which might make his journey even more historic.
Patrick Mahomes has already won the battle to return to the field without a knee brace. With his supporters cheering for him, can he become the Comeback Player of the Year?