KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes underwent successful surgery Monday in Dallas to repair a tear in his left ACL, the team announced.
The procedure was performed by Dr. Dan Cooper, the Dallas Cowboys’ head team physician. A league source told ESPN that Dr. Cooper also repaired a torn LCL in Mahomes’ left knee, confirming a report by NFL Network.
The Chiefs said Mahomes “will begin his rehab process immediately.”
Mahomes was injured with less than two minutes remaining in Sunday’s 16-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, a result that ended the Chiefs’ playoff hopes.
The typical recovery for such an injury is about nine months, meaning Mahomes will miss the team’s offseason program and his availability for the start of next season is uncertain. The 2026 NFL season opener is Sept. 10.
“He’ll attack it, just like he does everything else,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said when discussing Mahomes’ rehab. “There have been some pretty good quarterbacks who have had the same injury, and they’ve done pretty well after they came back. He’ll get after it, and he’s got good people here to rehab him. He’ll be right on top of all of that.”
One of the most prominent quarterbacks to rehab a torn ACL was Tom Brady, who suffered the injury in the 2008 opener at age 31. During Monday’s episode of his “Let’s Go!” podcast, Brady offered advice for Mahomes based on his own recovery.
“You’ve just got to put as much diligence into the rehab process,” Brady said. “I always feel like the faster you rehab, the faster you can get back to practicing the sport that you know you love. I think sometimes people will pace themselves. Instead of training mode, they’re in rehab mode. I think you got to get through rehab mode as fast as possible, and then you get back to training mode.
“But that requires an all-out commitment and it’s the same commitment that the great professional athletes make to be great at their profession. When you go through the rehab process, you need that same level of focus and determination. It’s a tough rehab. It’s one of the toughest rehabs.”
