After suffering a season-ending torn ACL injury in his left knee in the Kansas City Chiefs’ 16-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 15 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes said in a social media post that he “will be back stronger than ever.”
Even before he shared that message to his supporters, he was already singing the same tune to Kansas City head coach Andy Reid.
“He’s so positive right now,” Reid told reporters on Wednesday about Mahomes’ status.
“He attacked this thing the day of. You wouldn’t expect anything less. ‘Get me up, get me going,’ he’s basically saying, an hour after the game. ‘Brace me up and let me go.’ It’s not one of those injuries, obviously, but that’s his mindset.”
Most people wouldn’t even think of getting back to work just an hour after such a devastating, potentially career-altering injury. But most people also don’t have three Super Bowl rings and three NFL Most Valuable Player awards. Mahomes’ mentality after the injury explains why he’s got all those on his resume.
Mahomes is facing a long journey to recovery. For the 6-8 Chiefs, they are just looking to finish the season with at least some wins to uplift their spirit. They will take on the very beatable 2-12 Tennessee Titans on Sunday in a Week 16 matchup at Nashville, Tenn., with Gardner Minshew expected to start under center in place of Mahomes.
Mahomes, 30, concluded his ninth season in the NFL with 3,587 passing yards and 22 touchdowns against 11 interceptions on a 62.7% completion rate.
