Inside Patrick Mahomes' remarkable return from knee injury - ESPN

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Positioned next to Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, at the start of what would be a nine-month odyssey, was the MRI machine. The results of the scans that Dec. 14 day revealed the most significant injury of Mahomes' nine-year career: a torn ACL and LCL in his left knee.

As the minutes passed, more people entered the room inside the Chiefs' training facility, located a few hundred feet from Arrowhead Stadium — team head trainer Rick Burkholder; Mahomes' agent, Chris Cabott; Mahomes' wife, Brittany; coach Andy Reid; general manager Brett Veach; and club owner Clark Hunt. Together — less than an hour after Mahomes had crumpled to the turf, grabbed his knee and screamed in pain — the group began contemplating next steps.

At one point, someone looked at the calendar. The first Sunday of the 2026 NFL season was scheduled for Sept. 13, 273 days away. While exploring surgical options, a phone call was made to Dr. Dan Cooper, the renowned Dallas Cowboys head team physician who specializes in knee and shoulder injuries. Cooper presented a proposition to Mahomes: If he wanted to return to the field as soon as possible, giving himself a chance to be back in uniform for the start of the Chiefs' 2026 campaign, he would need to fly from Kansas City to Dallas the next morning to have surgery.

«I'm willing,» Mahomes responded, «to do whatever it takes.»

Throughout his rehab and recovery, Mahomes has said that same sentence many times. And his exhaustive, day-after-day actions have led to him achieving his mission — one that began next to the MRI machine 274 days ago.

When the Chiefs open their season Monday against the Denver Broncos (8:15 p.m. ET on ABC/ESPN), Mahomes, 30, will be available and is