The 30-year-old star has his eyes set on Week 1 as he rehabs last season's torn ACL and MCL.
The Kansas City Chiefs begin the 2026 season with one extra day to prepare, squaring off with their division foe Denver Broncos in a Monday Night Football affair on Sep. 14.
Just seven months after tearing his ACL and MCL, star quarterback Patrick Mahomes has the date circled, setting the table for a return from injury only someone as extraordinary as Mahomes could accomplish.
"It feels great, pushing every single day, trying to stack days together," the Texas Tech legend said to reporters this week. "I feel like when you're tired, sometimes you don't even think about it. So, I'm trying to protect it, but at the same time, I’m trying to push it and get myself ready to go for the season."
Mahomes, 30, injured his left knee on Dec. 14 in a low-scoring loss to the LA Chargers. The Chiefs tumbled below their preseason expectations, missing the playoffs for the first time in over a decade at 6-11.
The injury closely mirrors the quarterback situation in Lubbock for the Red Raiders, who are eager to get Will Hammond under center after he tore his ACL in October.
Texas Tech is expected to compete for another championship after a dominant run through the Big 12 in 2025. But like the Chiefs, their future lies in the strength of their quarterback's leg.
Mahomes and Hammond are both skilled when it comes to maneuvering out of the pocket, throwing on the run, and scrambling for yardage on their own. The two have connected throughout this offseason, bouncing ideas off one another and providing perspectives of their rehabilitation processes.
"I mean, he's the best player in the world," said Hammond, who also works out with Mahomes' quarterback trainer, Jeff Christensen, in the offseason.
"To be able to at least get a little bit of advice from him every so often is cool," Hammond added. "It's fun to hear about how they approach [the injury] in an NFL building versus the way we approach it in a college building. Very similar, but kinda fun to just hear his process. Just good to have someone like that in your corner."
Mahomes has been fully cleared to take part in the Chiefs' training camp since camp began, which is a key milestone in his chances of playing in Week 1.
"I had to pass a test that was pretty, pretty hard," Mahomes detailed. "And so, it was kind of about making me -- so basically it made me really tired. Then they made me go out there and do a lot of cutting and jumping and all that different type of stuff. And so, I'm a competitor. So, when it comes to a test of physical ability, I wanted to go out there and do it, but [Dr. Dan Cooper], he wasn't going to take it easy on me. He was going to push me to my limit and see what I got.
"Once he cleared me, it wasn't like he was just going to clear me to clear me. And so, I knew that I could go out there and be myself, and now it's about proving to the coaches and the doctors, as they watch all this stuff, that I can go out there and do that in the regular season as well."
Mahomes said he "forgets about it sometimes" while he practices, which is indicative of his confidence returning at a good rate. So far at Texas Tech, Hammond is playing similarly by how he has planted, juked, and taken off running off his injured right knee.
At this rate, the former and current Red Raider quarterbacks could see their parallel recoveries end just on time for their season openers.
Texas Tech begins its conference title defense on Sep. 5 at home against Abilene Christian.
