All good things come to an end. For theKansas City Chiefs, 2025 saw their reign in the AFC West end with a 6-11 campaign.
TheChiefsstruggled in close games but were still in playoff contention when two-time MVP quarterbackPatrick Mahomessuffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 15 against the Los Angeles Chargers. A post-game MRI showed Mahomes tore the ACL and LCL in his left knee.
Three months later, the Chiefs' franchise quarterback is already on the field throwing.
Mahomes posted a video of himself to his Instagram story today with the caption "Day by Day! Felt Great being able to throw the ball around today!"
Mahomes wore a sleeve on his left leg in the video. That's likely part of his recovery process to rehabilitate after surgery.
Chiefs vice president of sports medicine and performance, Rick Burkholder, gave a positive outlook on his recovery post-surgery back in December.
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"Everything that he had in this injury was fixable, correctable and it was fixed," Burkholder said. "He had no artery damage, no nerve damage, no joint surface damage, no meniscal damage. … As you know in the past with Patrick and his injuries, he attacks them and does very well and he's in that mode right now."
Mahomes said in Januarythat his goal is to be ready for Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season. That would be less than 10 months removed from his surgery date.
"Obviously, I think the long term, I mean I want to be ready for Week 1," he said. "The doctor said that I could be, but I can't predict what's gonna happen throughout the process. But that's my goal, and so I'll try to prepare myself to be ready to play in that Week 1 and have no restrictions – you know, you want to be out there healthy and giving us the best chance to win."
Chiefs owner Clark Hunt acknowledged that timetable as well.
"He certainly has a goal to be back for the beginning of the season,"Hunt said on "Good Morning Football" on Jan. 27. "I wouldn't put it past him. He's somebody in the past who has healed very quickly and, again, his work ethic, I think, gives him a huge advantage in getting back and being ready to play in 2026."
Hunt and Burkholder's words show the team is hoping Mahomes will be good to go in Week 1 but their actions show they're prepared for another possibility. Kansas Citytraded a 2027 sixth-round pick to the New York Jetsfor former first-round quarterbackJustin Fields. That's a small price to pay for a contending team to have some good insurance for their star quarterback.
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CB Trent McDuffie: Traded to Los Angeles Rams (previous team: Kansas City Chiefs)" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
RB David Montgomery: Traded to Houston Texans (previous team: Detroit Lions)" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
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OT Tytus Howard:Traded to Cleveland Browns(previous team: Houston Texans)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Patrick Mahomes throwing football in latest injury recovery update