Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is starting to test his knee and play the way he's used to.
The Kansas City Chiefs are getting into the tricky part of quarterback Patrick Mahomes rehab from knee surgery, and he’s getting closer to being ready to go. There are still benchmarks to be passed, but there’s also a temptation to be a full go right now, according to one of the latest updates from Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
“It feels great,” Mahomes said Friday as Florio referenced Nate Taylor of ESPN. “When you’re tired sometimes, you don’t even think about [the knee]. I’m trying to protect it, but at the same time trying to push it and get myself ready to go for the season.”
One of the issues that’s creeping into the rehab equation is Mahomes’ competitive nature. He’s used to winning the moment, but that moment is still over a month away.
“I try to be smart, but there’s just sometimes where, in camp, you’re trying to compete and practices are long,” Mahomes said. “I mean, you want to win the rep. There’s times where I do forget about it and just play football.”
Florio cited an example of this that happened on Friday during 11-on 11 reps, when Mahomes tried to make a play that wasn’t there to be made. He scrambled toward the right sideline, then cut back and threw and underhand lateral that became a fumble recovered by the defense.
“I’m trying to hold myself back because I’m just a competitor,” Mahomes said. “I like competing. All of a sudden, I’m running and cutting back and trying to pitch the ball. But when it’s fourth down, you want to try to make a play happen.
“I’m not going to lose who I am, but I’m going to try to keep myself smart and keep myself in position to be out there for my teammates.”
The other issue here is that the Chiefs are redesigning their offense so that Mahomes can be more of a pocket passer, but that’s never really been his true identity. He can do it as well as anyone when he wants to, but often his first instinct is to try to use his legs and his instincts to make a play.
Part of his nature is that he’s a runner who tends to go sideways to buy time when the pass rush gets heated, and as Florio noted, those movements and cuts will put stress on his knee. Calling more running plays with Kenneth Walker III going up the middle will give Mahomes fewer chances to go off script, at least in theory, but that’s not going to change who he is.
