There isn’t a query concerning the aim for Kansas Metropolis Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes as he rehabilitates from surgical procedure to restore the ACL and LCL in his left knee: to start out the 2026 season alongside his teammates in Week 1.
That doesn’t appear so unrealistic after his participation in OTA practices this week, the primary full-team apply periods of the offseason, however that has been Mahomes’ aim since January, when he expressed it in his first availability to the media since a profitable surgical procedure following the group’s Week 15 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
It’s onerous guilty anybody for believing that Mahomes can be good to go for the opener, however it’s possible that many with these beliefs don’t assume (or know) to credit score the final word catalyst to his restoration: Chiefs’ Assistant Athletic Coach and Bodily Therapist Julie Frymyer.
She has been working immediately with Mahomes and Dr. Cooper, who carried out the surgical procedure, to make sure the quarterback identified for inevitability is again on the sector when he’s bodily prepared. That undetermined date is probably going a lot later than the day Mahomes could be mentally and emotionally prepared, and that’s why Frymyer is so vital to the entire course of.
“As a competitor, I want to be out there with my guys,” Mahomes instructed reporters in a press convention on Thursday following two days of OTA apply. “We’ve kind of set these checkpoints and goals of where I want to be at, and I’ve gotten to those, so now, I just have to continue to do that at the right pace.”
Mahomes defined that his “checkpoints” often come each week to 2 weeks, permitting him to give attention to short-term goals, one after the other, that add as much as a full restoration. At present, he’s in a section targeted on operating and slicing, aiming to show to Julie and the group’s head coach, Rick Burkholder, that he can shield himself earlier than the group approves his full participation in apply; head coach Andy Reid confirmed that Mahomes was held out of group drills this week.
Reid has little expectation for Mahomes’ present timeline; he merely trusts his coaching employees. He pointed that out throughout his press convention on Thursday.
“I don’t judge it,” Reid stated of the restoration timeline. “People say, ‘Is he ahead of schedule?’ Who made the schedule? Everyone’s different… he and Julie have spent a ton of time working together, she’s tough on him… and he’s willing to come back. Half the battle is trusting the person who’s doing the rehab with you, then showing up the next day. It doesn’t necessarily feel good, but if you keep coming, it works out okay.”
“She gauges that, so she knows when to back him down,” Reid added later. “He’ll stay here and do anything. He misses nothing.”
Like all nice chief, Mahomes understands the worth of listening to and studying from the folks near him. He likened Frymyer, who has been with the franchise since his second NFL season, to his private coach and his spouse, signaling how a lot of an impression she has had on his potential to beat accidents.
“I’ve known her for so long, and I trust her so much,“ Mahomes said of Frymyer. ”It’s form of like after I prepare with Bobby [Stroupe] and even after I’m at residence with Britney, they know how you can push me every time I don’t really feel like doing the work… There’s days you are available in, you’re drained, I imply you’re sore… however she’s going to ensure I end your complete exercise and I’m going to do it the proper approach.
KANSAS CITY, MO – MAY 28: Quarterback Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs follows by way of on a move throughout the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs OTA’s on Could 28, 2026 on the Chiefs Coaching Facility in Kansas Metropolis, MO. (Picture by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire through Getty Photographs) Icon Sportswire through Getty Photographs
“You’ve got to have someone that’s going to push you like that,” Mahomes continued. “That’s not scared to push you even when you’re not feeling great. She does that, and she knows when to kind of pull back on some days… so just having the ultimate trust that she’s going to do that, it lets me just go out there and just work and not have to think about am I doing too much? Am I not doing enough?”
“[It’s] definitely a big advantage for me having her in the building.”
Whether or not she must get him going or sluggish him down, Frymyer appears to be working extra time to observe Mahomes’ progress. All experiences point out the two-time MVP is rehabbing across the clock, all day — except the Chiefs’ Vice President of Soccer Communications, Brad Gee, asks him to attend a press convention, at the least.
“Usually, I’d be rehabbing right now,” Mahomes stated with a smile. “Brad’s got me in here.”
