Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes suggested that he might make some changes to how he plays after the ACL tear he suffered last season.
Mahomes said Friday that he felt he ran with the ball too much last season, which made him more vulnerable to injury. He added that he intends to make use of newly-acquired running back Kenneth Walker III in order to take some of the pressure off himself.
“I plan to be able to do everything I did before, but I’m going to obviously try to take care of myself a little better than I did last season,” Mahomes told reporters. “I think I ran a little bit too much last season in general, so I’ll try to be better than that. If all else fails, just give it to K9 and let him go out there and work.”
#Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes admits he ran too much last year and likely needs to be better about that this season.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) July 24, 2026
“If all else fails, I’ll just hand it off to K9 (Kenneth Walker) and let him go to work.” https://t.co/DmORdw91GA pic.twitter.com/xh5FvjsHWw
Mahomes did run with the ball more often last season. He had six more rushing attempts than he had in 2024 while playing in two fewer games. Only twice has he posted more than the 64 rushing attempts he had in 2025.
Mahomes’ speed and unpredictability is a vital part of his game, so he will want to demonstrate that he is still capable of keeping defenses on their toes that way. Once he can do that, however, he will want to use that weapon judiciously.
On the other hand, Mahomes appears set to prove himself capable of returning incredibly quickly from his injury. At this point, it would be silly to doubt him.
