The road back for Patrick Mahomes from the devastating knee injury suffered on Sunday has already taken an uncommon turn. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the timing of his surgery speaks volumes about how the Chiefs quarterback is approaching his recovery.
The Chiefs updated fans on the day after the injury that Mahomes suffered both an ACL and LCL tear in his right knee during the team's Week 15 loss to the L.A. Chargers. What Schefter found most intriguing was how quickly Mahomes went under the knife to get on with his rehabilitation.
“I don't remember the last time that I remember hearing about a player tearing his ACL on Sunday and having surgery on Monday,” Schefter said. “Like, that was extreme. That was immediate, and that sent a message to me that Patrick Mahomes already is locked in on getting back for opening day 2026.”
Mahomes underwent surgery approximately 24 hours after leaving the game with the injury. Schefter says this stands in stark contrast to the many injury situations he's covered in his many years around the National Football League.
“Usually—usually—I’m not a doctor, but usually when players tear their ACL, they wait a couple of weeks, wait for the swelling to go down, and then have the surgery,” Schefter said. “Again, I'd be curious to hear more about this, and I'm going to make some calls this week, but it's amazing to me that he did it right away. Like, I don't hear that very often, if at all.”
Adam Schefter says Mahomes’ quickly-timed surgery is a clear sign the Chiefs quarterback is already targeting a return for the start of the 2026 season.
Mahomes' urgency matters because of the league calendar. Schefter outlined the typical recovery timeline for an ACL injury, which generally hovers around nine months.
“The typical timeline for an injury like this is nine months to recover from,” Schefter said. “He had the surgery on Monday, December 15th. Nine months from December 15th is September 15th. The season starts about a week before.”
The math places Mahomes right on the edge of the 2026 season, at least under typical circumstances. But as Schefter pointed out, anything involving Mahomes rarely follows the norm.
“Patrick Mahomes is different. He’s built different,” Schefter said. “You know that he’s going to have the absolute finest resources, care, and attention to bring him along. I think it'll be a surprise if he's not ready for opening day on 2026 because he's Patrick Mahomes, because he's already set into motion the chain of events that will bring him back sooner.”
None of this guarantees that Mahomes will be ready for Week 1 of 2026. A serious injury like this always comes down to the individual situation. However, it does reinforce the notion that nothing is normal when it comes to Patrick Mahomes, even a journey back from such a tragic turn.