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He's back.
After missing only three games at the end of a lost 2025 season for the Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes will officially be suiting up against the Broncos in Week 1, marking his return from a torn ACL and LCL suffered against the Chargers last December.
For most star athletes, especially in the NFL, a torn ACL can bring a 10-to-12-month recovery period, sometimes missing an entire season before being ready for the game's physicality. But Mahomes, a three-time Super Bowl MVP and two-time MVP, has long been an anomaly. His injury recovery will be no exception, with a return exactly nine months after going down.
Here's what's known about Mahomes' injury recovery timeline and how his nine-month turnaround compares to the fastest returns from a torn ACL in NFL history.
MORE: How Patrick Mahomes' injury recovery compared to Bo Nix's
Inside Patrick Mahomes ACL recovery
On December 14, 2025, Mahomes and the Chiefs lost to the Chargers, eliminating them from playoff contention. What made matters even worse, though, was the quarterback going to the ground in pain late in the matchup, grabbing at his knee and needing to be helped back to the locker room.
That day, the star quarterback underwent an MRI and was diagnosed with a torn ACL and LCL in his left knee, marking the most significant injury of his career.
"Don’t know why this had to happen. And not going to lie it’s hurts. But all we can do now is Trust in God and attack every single day over and over again," Mahomes wrote on X. "Thank you Chiefs kingdom for always supporting me and for everyone who has reached out and sent prayers. I Will be back stronger than ever."
Don’t know why this had to happen. And not going to lie it’s hurts. But all we can do now is Trust in God and attack every single day over and over again. Thank you Chiefs kingdom for always supporting me and for everyone who has reached out and sent prayers. I Will be back…
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) December 14, 2025According to ESPN, that same night, Chiefs officials and Mahomes began eyeing the Sunday of 2026 Week 1 — September 13 — looking to find a path to get the quarterback healthy in the nine months to follow. They called Cowboys head team physician Dr. Dan Cooper, who specializes in knee and shoulder injuries and told them that if Mahomes was aiming to return by the 2026 season-opener, he should get surgery as soon as possible.
"I'm willing to do whatever it takes," Mahomes told Cooper, per ESPN.
The team chose Cooper to do Mahomes' surgery in part because of the doctor's "experience repairing two of the four main stabilizing knee ligaments 24 hours after injury, including reattaching the LCL," per ESPN. While most players wait a week or longer to go through surgery due to knee swelling, Mahomes sped up the process by getting surgery the day after the injury.
Under a day after his surgery, Mahomes' rehab began with Chiefs athletic trainers, making sure his knee wouldn't swell up. The quarterback couldn't walk in late December, wearing a brace over his knee.
The toughest part was the beginning, not being able to get up and chase my kids around," Mahomes said, per ESPN. "I remember sitting at the [training] table and watching us play those last few [road] games and how much it hurt me."
By January, Mahomes was spending "at least seven hours" at the Chiefs' training facilities every day, per ESPN, with checkpoints in his recovery every two weeks being sent back to Cooper. By March, on the 100th day post-surgery, he shared a video to Instagram of him doing drop-backs and footwork, able to transfer weight to his left knee.
QB1 back in the lab 👀 @PatrickMahomes pic.twitter.com/F9BXzqzyr6
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) March 25, 2026By May, Mahomes had met one of his goals in being ready for Chiefs OTAs, and the team was sharing footage of him throwing passes on a practice field. He only held out of the 11-on-11 reps on OTAs, per ESPN.
QB1. ⏰ pic.twitter.com/z2zGoIhIVz
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) May 26, 2026The quarterback reportedly stayed in communication with another NFL star going through a torn ACL recovery, tight end Zach Ertz.
"It would start off as, 'What are you deadlifting?'" Mahomes said of his conversations with Ertz, per ESPN. "Then it's like sending little videos. He's jumping and doing certain acceleration things. I'm sending him [the] next week [me] doing cutting and stuff like that.
On July 22, Mahomes was put "through a series of running, jumping and cutting tests" by Cooper, and in response, he was cleared to participate in all football activities during training camp.
He didn't wind up missing any practices throughout camp, though defenders weren't able to touch him in those sessions. He did not play in any preseason games for the first time in his career.
"I feel stronger than I've ever felt, as far as strength and lifting [weights]," Mahomes said at camp, per ESPN. "I feel amazing. ... I'm excited just to be able to play football. I've been seeing cinderblock walls rehabbing every single day in Kansas City."
Now, officially nine months after his injury, Mahomes will be taking an NFL field for the first time since, coming off weeks worth of practice sessions with the Chiefs and clearing every protocol along the way.
⏰ @PatrickMahomes pic.twitter.com/ZY5mU5HWst
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) July 30, 2026MORE NFL WEEK 1:
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How did Patrick Mahomes recover so fast?
While the aggressiveness of his rehab, recovery and training likely also played a significant role, part of the reason Mahomes was able to make a Week 1 return, nine months after his injury, was the fact that he immediately got surgery done on his knee after the injury.
The quarterback got surgery done the morning after his torn ACL/LCL in December, allowing him to get a head-start on rehab before his knee could swell too much.
Paired with his clear drive to be ready by Week 1, pushing himself in rehab over the last nine months, Mahomes set one of the more unprecedented examples of a rapid recovery from his injury.
Fastest ACL recoveries in NFL history
Based on the day the injury was suffered, versus the day the player returned to NFL action, technically, Jerry Rice had the fastest recovery from a torn ACL in league history. But his story was more of a cautionary one for future players — Rice wound up re-injuring himself upon his return.
Here's a look at some of the fastest torn ACL recoveries in the NFL by total days:
| Rank | Player | Team | Date of Injury | Date of Return | Total Days |
| 1 | Jerry Rice | 49ers | Aug. 31, 1997 | Dec. 15, 1997 | 106 |
| 2 | Jordyn Brooks | Seahawks | Jan. 1, 2023 | Sept. 10, 2023 | 252 |
| Wes Welker | Patriots | Jan. 3, 2010 | Sept. 12, 2010 | 252 | |
| 4 | Adrian Peterson | Vikings | Dec. 24, 2011 | Sept. 9, 2012 | 260 |
| 5 | Chris Godwin | Buccaneers | Dec. 19, 2021 | Sept. 11, 2022 | 266 |
| 6 | Patrick Mahomes | Chiefs | Dec. 14, 2025 | Sept. 14, 2026 | 274 |
| 7 | Carson Wentz | Eagles | Dec. 10, 2017 | Sept. 23, 2018 | 287 |
| 8 | Joe Burrow | Bengals | Nov. 22, 2020 | Sept. 12, 2021 | 294 |
| 9 | Deshaun Watson | Texans | Nov. 2, 2017 | Sept. 9, 2018 | 311 |
| 10 | Breece Hall | Jets | Oct. 23, 2022 | Sept. 11, 2023 | 323 |
Jerry Rice, 106 days
In Week 1 of his age-35 season, Rice took a hit that resulted in a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee. He did make somewhat of a miraculous recovery to get back on the field — but it wound up being an example of what not to do for future players.
Just 14 weeks later and in the same season, Rice returned for the 49ers, 106 days after his injury. During that game, he did catch a touchdown pass, but he fractured the patella in his same knee on the play.
The kneecap injury ended Rice's season for good, and he later acknowledged that he rushed the recovery from a major surgery. He returned in 1998 and would play in the NFL for years to come.
Jordyn Brooks, 252 days
In 2023, during a Week 17 game with the Seahawks against the Jets, linebacker Jordyn Brooks suffered a torn ACL, placed on IR as his season ended on the first day of the calendar year.
Just around eight months later, though, Brooks made a remarkable recovery, activated off the PUP list and able to play in Seattle's 2023 season-opener. It marked less than eight months after having the surgery on Jan. 19, according to the Seahawks.
"It's amazing," his teammate, linebacker Bobby Wagner, said at the time. "I hope we don't just pass on it like this is not a big deal. That's an extremely big deal, something that we should definitely applaud, definitely appreciate, and acknowledge. That's not easy. Having that type of injury, coming back and being ready for the first game. I think when he got hurt, I don't think anybody thought he was going to be ready for this first game. To be in that position, looking great, moving great, it's an accomplishment in itself. I really hope we as a world don't just look over like that's an easy thing."
Wes Welker, 252 days
Tied with Brooks for the fastest full recovery (with no re-injury) is Wes Welker, who tore his ACL in January 2010, toward the end of the Patriots' 2009 season in a matchup against the Texans. The wide receiver missed the team's playoff appearance, finishing the season with 123 receptions, which was the second-most ever in a season at the time.
Despite some speculation that Welker may not even play in the 2010 season at all, instead, he was ready for Week 1 in September. Even after waiting until early February to have surgery, the star receiver was back in action, catching eight passes, including two touchdowns, in Week 1.
Adrian Peterson, 260 days
Perhaps the most famous example of an NFL star remaining elite, despite a torn ACL as a setback, is Adrian Peterson's 2012 season coming off a season-ending knee injury in 2011.
Peterson was one of the NFL's best running backs by 2011, a fourth-year pro for the Vikings who totaled over 1,700 rushing yards in 2008 after being the runner-up in Heisman voting as a freshman at Oklahoma.
However, on Dec. 24, 2011, Peterson went down with a torn ACL and MCL against Washington, ending his season.
Despite coming into the 2012 season as questionable, Peterson was able to return for Week 1, rushing for 84 yards and two touchdowns around eight months after his ACL tear. Peterson then proceeded to have one of the greatest running back seasons in NFL history, winning MVP honors with over 2,000 rushing yards in total.
Chris Godwin, 266 days
In his fifth season with the Buccaneers as one of the NFL's most reliable receivers, Chris Godwin's 2021 campaign came to an end on Dec. 19 due to a torn ACL against the Saints, also spraining his MCL.
Not only did Godwin sign an extension with Tampa Bay that offseason, a vote of confidence in his recovery, but the wide receiver made his return for Week 1 of the 2022 season, catching three passes from Tom Brady and going on to post his third career 1,000-yard season.
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