Andy Reid walked up to the podium at Missouri Western State University on Friday and delivered the kind of medical update that makes a 340-pound retired nose tackle sit up in his recliner. Patrick Mahomes — the guy whose left knee got folded like a cheap lawn chair on December 14 — has been fully cleared to practice.
“Right now, he’s got clearance to practice and do all the different periods that we have in this camp,” Reid said. “We’ll just take it day by day and see how he does. He’ll have plenty of eyes on him from coaches to trainers to doctors. But right now, he’s been cleared to go ahead and participate fully.”
Seven months. ACL and LCL, both gone. The old nine-to-twelve-month timeline that the league has seen forever — Mahomes shredded it. His surgeon, Dan Cooper — the same guy who works on the Cowboys — gave him the green light “like two days” before quarterbacks and rookies reported to St. Joseph on Friday. The full squad doesn’t arrive until July 28, which buys Mahomes a little extra runway before the real hitting starts.
Reid praised the way Mahomes attacked his rehab. “He’s been up here every day, doing his thing, rehabbing,” the coach said. “If anybody spent time doing this thing the right way, he’s it.”
But Big Red isn’t handing out any guarantees about Week 1. The schedule makers slotted the Chiefs against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football to open the season — a prime-time stage featuring two rehabbing quarterbacks, with Bo Nix working back from a fractured ankle suffered January 17. Reid acknowledged the optimism but wouldn’t bite on a prediction.
“I’m optimistic, and I know he is extremely optimistic,” Reid said. “But I think you’ve got to see how things go here. Let’s just see where we’re at and not making any predictions or anything else. Take it day by day and see where it goes.”
Mahomes called practicing at the start of camp “always the goal,” while drawing a thick line between wearing a red no-contact jersey in July and facing a live pass rush in September. He consulted players who’d been through similar recoveries — Tom Brady, Zach Ertz, Tyrann Mathieu — and said the rehab strength work left him feeling “stronger than I’ve ever felt.”
“The process isn’t over,” Mahomes said. “It’ll be something I’ll probably deal with for the next few years of my career and throughout the rest of my career.”
Now it’s about the quarterback-specific stuff — pocket navigation, quick reactions, getting the ball out on time. Mahomes called last season the statistically worst of his eight years as a starter: 62.7% completion, 2,587 yards, 22 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, an 89.6 passer rating that sat well below his 100.8 career average. He won six of fourteen starts. For a guy with three rings and five Super Bowl appearances in six years, that’s a plate of cold leftovers.
“I feel like I wasn’t playing my best football at the end of last year before I got hurt,” Mahomes said. “I think this injury helped me kind of focus on those little things as I kind of get back to being who I am.”
He also admitted he ran too much last season and plans to take better care of himself going forward. Preseason participation remains undecided — “coaches and docs will kind of make that decision for me,” he said.
Reid also provided updates on five other Chiefs: defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott, also recovering from ACL reconstruction, will likely start camp on the PUP list. Wide receiver Rashee Rice has been cleared following a knee debridement and a short incarceration. Rookie cornerback Mansoor Delane, the sixth overall pick, was undergoing his final physical. Cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, back in Kansas City after two years in Tennessee, will be eased in gradually. Undrafted rookie tight end John Michael Gyllenborg is still working through a knee sprain and likely won’t get much work.
“Other than that, I think everybody’s in a pretty good position to roll,” Reid said. “Really, Norman-Lott’s the main one.”
Sources:
- Yahoo Sports — Andy Reid: Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes fully cleared for training camp participation
- Yahoo Sports — Andy Reid: Patrick Mahomes has been cleared to fully participate
- Yahoo Sports — Patrick Mahomes is cleared to practice. Will Chiefs QB be ready for Week 1?
- Yahoo Sports — Andy Reid gives 6 Chiefs injury updates; Patrick Mahomes cleared to practice