So far, so good. When it comes to Patrick Mahomes' return from torn knee ligaments, that's both the best-case scenario and all that anyone in Chiefs Kingdom can know for now—including his head coach Andy Reid.
Those inside Arrowhead are just as concerned with the progress of their superstar quarterback as the fans outside of it, but fortunately, every offseason report through the spring has been positive when it comes to Mahomes' rehabilitation. As he works with Chiefs trainer Julie Frymyer, Mahomes has been attacking his recovery with the same tenacity that he does any other competitive opportunity.
The latest report on Mahomes came on the third and final day of Kansas City's mandatory minicamp. The Chiefs just concluded day three of the event, which means everyone gets the next few weeks off until reporting to St. Joseph for training camp in late July. On the eve of such a break, Reid spoke with reporters about a number of questions, including how Mahomes' progress is coming along.
"I love what he did this offseason, the way he attacked the rehab. He’s on course to take these next few days and get ready for camp," said Reid.
Andy Reid gave an in-depth update about Patrick Mahomes' progress in rehab and the mercurial nature of it all.
When asked about the very next steps for Mahomes as spring turns into summer, Reid said it was more of the same.
"I would tell you it’s just continued rehab with it up to training camp—keep working his legs, his strength in his legs. Then there’s a part, the healing process has to keep taking place. He gets periodic checks on that, too, but he’s been working closely with Julie [Frymyer, Chiefs trainer] on the rehab part of it, and then he comes out and practices. He does rehab before practice, comes to practice, and then he goes after practice. So he’s staying on top of all of that," he said.
Reid did acknowledge the unpredictable nature of a player's healing path, saying that there's no way to tell for sure if Mahomes will be ready to suit up for the Chiefs in Week 1 against the Denver Broncos. While it sounds like Mahomes is on schedule for now. Reid said it's just impossible to tell until the day arrives.
"You just gotta take it day by day, I think," said Reid. "It looks like he’s going to be able to do some things during camp. He did it out here, so I would presume, in 40 days, he’ll be even better than that. So we’ll see where it goes. You go through peaks and valleys in this thing. You might plateau for a little bit and then you don’t ever know where those are going to take place, but so far, it’s been a pretty steady climb up the hill there."
Reid pointed to Justin Fields as the obvious option in case Mahomes is not ready for any reason, saying "that's why he's here," but there's no question that Reid is also optimistic in his starter to be there when the time comes. Nothing is certain, but minicamp offered yet another moment for fans to be encouraged by the work of the franchise face and the team's training staff around him.
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