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Kansas City Chiefs vice president of sports medicine and performance Rick Burkholder on Wednesday provided a rough timeline for Patrick Mahomes’ return from a torn ACL.
Mahomes was injured Sunday during the Chiefs’ loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. It was later revealed that Mahomes had also torn 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 goes so hard and he’s so in tune with what he’s doing that he does it a little faster. The ballpark for this case is nine months. It could be a month or two less, or a month or two longer,” Burkholder told reporters.
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“You never know what’s going on and everyone is designed differently mechanically, so you just have to go through it, and then he has position-specific things that he has to do. So now I’ll tell you this, early in the rehab phase, we’re doing a lot to get his muscles working and the swelling down and he’s wearing a protective brace right now for this whole operation to heal.”
The doctor also suggested that Mahomes’ structured lifestyle could lead to a faster recovery than the average player.
“As you know, as a player, his mindset is a little different than most. He’s so strict in what he does, he’s here at six in the morning, he’s the last one out at night. He’ll go through rehab like that,” Burkholder added.
“He and I have talked about it, look, you have a program right now in the season where you get treatment at this time, film at this time, train – that’s the way rehabs should go and that’s the way it’s always been with him and it will be. When you add up all the little things, it allows the player to come back faster. They don’t heal faster, they just get back to performing faster.”
Mahomes has a history of returning from injury sooner than expected.
PATRICK MAHOMES SUSTAINS BRUTAL KNEE INJURY AS CHEADS ELIMINATED FROM PLAYOFF CONTENTION
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) rushes during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Kansas City, Missouri. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
He played with a dislocated kneecap in 2019 and missed only two games. During that year’s playoffs, he suffered from toe and ankle problems and played through severe pain to win Super Bowl LIV. Mahomes then suffered a serious ankle sprain in the 2022 playoffs to win his second Super Bowl.
Mahomes underwent surgery performed in Dallas by Dr. Dan Cooper Monday evening to treat both the LCL and ACL. The good news for Mahomes is that he suffered no arterial damage, no nerve damage, no joint surface damage, or no meniscal damage.
Burkholder said advanced medical technology was used in the procedure.
“There are new surgical techniques, and I think the bigger and faster these guys are, the more injuries you see like this,” Burkholder said.
“So doctors are better at doing it and we certainly all selected a doctor who has done this operation before and he used certain techniques based on what was out 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 guess that would be the main thing and then if he were to go to Dallas to visit or change of scenery for a minute, I think the majority of that would be with Julie. She kind of looks after him when he gets different injuries or maintenance tasks, so I assume he’ll be there most of the time. »
After Mahomes was injured in the fourth quarter, backup Gardner Minshew failed to bring the offense within field goal range for Harrison Butker to attempt a potential field goal in overtime. With the 16-13 defeat against Los Angeles Chargersthe Chiefs were eliminated from the playoffs.
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)
This will be the first time since 2014 that the Chiefs have not made the playoffs, and many view this as the end of the “dynasty” that went to three straight Super Bowl appearances, winning two before losing to the Philadelphia Eagles last year.
The Chiefs will evaluate their roster over the next three games, including Minshew starting the rest of the game under center. But all eyes will be on Mahomes this offseason, as it’s a bitter end to a roller coaster season for Kansas City.
