Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said Thursday that he expects to perform without any limitations Monday night against the Denver Broncos, four days before his return to the field. Mahomes, 30, will be the Chiefs' starter after spending the past nine months rehabbing and recovering from surgery that repaired the torn ACL and LCL in his left knee, an injury that occurred Dec. 14.
Mahomes said he has worked to improve his mobility since the Chiefs began training camp seven weeks ago, without missing any of the team's practices. "I've built up the strength [in my knee] and built up all the days of rehab so that I can be myself," Mahomes said. "I'm going to keep myself out of harm's way, like I always will, not trying to take big hits. But I'm a competitor, I signed up for this and I'm going to go out there and play football."
Coach Andy Reid said the Chiefs' offensive game plan will not look different from previous season-opening games with Mahomes. "He's shown he can do [everything]," Reid said. "We won't hold anything back that we wouldn't normally. He's geared up and ready to go."
Mahomes will open the season the same way Tom Brady and Robert Griffin III once did after their own knee injuries. In 2009, Brady returned from a torn ACL in his left knee for the Patriots' home opener on Monday Night Football against the Buffalo Bills, a game they won. Griffin, who had suffered a torn ACL and LCL in his right knee, struggled on opening night in 2013 when Washington lost at home to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Mahomes described an 11-on-11 drill in early August in which he scrambled on a fourth-down play, cut back from rookie defensive tackle Peter Woods, and attempted an underarm lateral to running back Kenneth Walker III before falling, with cornerback Chris Roland-Wallace recovering the ball. "That was kind of the moment where I was like, 'Oh my god, I can go out there and play,'" Mahomes said.
