As Patrick Mahomes worked his way back from ACL surgery, the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback found an unlikely mentor in seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady. After all, Brady’s personal experience with the same injury became a crucial aid that helped Mahomes navigate the grueling rehabilitation process. 

“I talked to Tom early in the process because he had the same injury, a very similar injury that I had,” Mahomes said after reporting to the Chiefs’ training camp at Missouri Western State University.

Brady sustained a torn ACL and MCL back in the 2008 season opener, and was out for the rest of the year. However, with proper rehab, the quarterback bounced back the next year and won the 2009 NFL Comeback Player of the Year award. He also followed it up with four more Super Bowl appearances. 

Initially, there was reason for concern after Brady went down with the injury. He was mysteriously absent from the sideline during games, and according to patriots.com, there were doubts about whether Brady would ever come back. In his autobiography ‘The TB12 Method,’ the former quarterback revealed that he’d also developed an infection in the injured knee after surgery.

He and his trainer, Alex Guerrero, designed their own plans for rehab.

“Before long we were doing more than was recommended, plugging suggestions from, say, Week 6 into Week 4, and seeing how well my body felt and responded,” Brady wrote. “More important, we resumed practicing the movements I make on the football field, those things I was rehabbing for—dropping back, handing the ball off, play-action passing, and throwing on the run.”

Brady added that his knee hadn’t bothered him since (He’d injure it again in 2020). However, it was not something he’d forget.

Brady sent Mahomes some support soon after the Chiefs quarterback went down with the injury.

“It’s a tough rehab,” the older quarterback said on the Let’s Go! podcast. “It’s one of the toughest rehabs. I just remember every day pushing myself. And it’s always the same amount of pain and discomfort, except you’re making progress through that pain and discomfort, which is a hard psychological thing to battle. You feel like, ‘God, every day it doesn’t feel right.’ Except you’re gaining range of motion and you’re gaining strength, and you are on the road to recovery. So, I wish him the very best.”

Mahomes said that it “hurt” him to sit back and watch the Chiefs tumble toward failure in those last few games. However, he seems to be on the right track now, having participated in the OTAs and mincamp.

The Chiefs also witnessed how hard Mahomes worked towards his recovery. General Manager Brett Veach revealed that the quarterback would have a trainer from the building accompany him and oversee his rehab whenever he traveled out of Kansas City.

Even Travis Kelce, Andrew Berry, and Andy Reid lauded the quarterback’s recovery so far. However, it’s worth noting that Mahomes was always aiming at opening in the Week 1 game. 

Patrick Mahomes weighs in on his Week 1 status for the 2026 season 

“That’s my goal. I’ve said that since the beginning, just being ready to go week one,” Mahomes told Yahoo Sports Daily. “I can’t predict the future, and I know that it’s a long process. It’s not just my decision, but at the same time, I’m going to give the doctors and the coaches every single opportunity they can to let me be out there Week 1, and I don’t want to miss that game, because the team that won the division while we’re gone, and you want to be out there and ready to go with your teammates.”

He did his best to recover and perform well in the OTAs. But now, the doctors and the coaches will decide whether to let him have the green light for Week 1 play. Normally, the post-surgery rehabilitation takes about nine months to ensure unrestricted function. And Mahomes would have completed that timeline by the time the Chiefs clash against the Broncos. 

As Week 1 approaches, Mahomes continues to check every box on his rehab checklist. Armed with the guidance of a legend who walked the same difficult path before him, the superstar quarterback looks poised to make a highly anticipated return to the field.