Not only is the Kansas City Chiefs' season done, but to make matters worse, Patrick Mahomes was injured in the final minutes of the 16-13 defeat. His season is also done, as he tore his ACL and LCL and has already had surgery and begun rehab.
While appearing on The Dan Patrick Show, former NFL quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III was asked what advice he'd give Mahomes (and Packers pass rusher Micah Parsons, who also tore his ACL on Sunday) after the injury. Chiefs fans won't like the advice he had to offer to the star quarterback.
"The number one advice I would give to Micah Parsons and Patrick Mahomes right now is to not play next year, and it's because of when they got hurt. They both got hurt in December. You know, you look at these injuries and you we've seen guys come back in six months, you know, eight months, nine months and it would be nine months for both of them if they were ready to go Week 1. But you don't really feel like yourself until about 15 months after the injury," Griffin said. "I tore my ACL and my LCL, the same injury that Patrick Mahomes has right now... I wouldn't have played the following year because I wasn't back to myself yet... I would advise [Mahomes and Parsons] to not play next year so that when they come back in '27, they can truly and fully be themselves and it won't knock off years from their career... I would advise them to sit out the following season because of when they got hurt and then you can play for another 10, 15 years once you're fully back to health. Do I think that's what's going to happen? No, I think they're going to come back and they're going to play Week 1 because that's how we're wired."
RG3 says Patrick Mahomes should sit out 2026 after brutal knee injury
Griffin can relate here as he had the same injury that Mahomes sustained on Sunday against the Chargers so he definitely knows what he's talking about. If an outsider were to weigh in on this, they'd also probably think it makes sense for Mahomes to take as long as he needs to return to the lineup so that he can truly feel like himself again but, as RG3 noted, that's not how football players are wired.
He's right when referencing that too. There's no way Mahomes would voluntarily sit out a year, especially if he's healthy enough to play in Week 1 of the 2026 season. He's too much of a competitor for that.
Griffin is simply offering advice that he wishes he had followed when he suffered that injury over a decade ago. In his defense, he was not the same player after sustaining that injury, which happened during his sensational rookie season. Mahomes is much older than Griffin was at the time of his injury but he's attacked all of his injuries hard and come back stronger. We'll have to see if that continues to be the case this time around.