Patrick Mahomes Out for Season with Torn ACL: What Comes Next for the Chiefs Star
The Kansas City Chiefs’ 2025 season took a crushing turn on Sunday, and it wasn’t just about a loss on the scoreboard. Patrick Mahomes-face of the franchise, three-time Super Bowl champion, and the engine behind Kansas City’s dominance over the past half-decade-suffered a torn ACL late in the game against the Chargers. The injury not only ends Mahomes’ season, but also slams the door on the Chiefs’ playoff hopes, snapping a postseason streak that dated back to 2015.
This is uncharted territory for Mahomes. While he's played through ankle sprains and battled through pain in previous seasons, this is the first time an injury will force him to miss significant time.
The timing couldn’t be more brutal. Mahomes was trying to rally the Chiefs for a comeback, still clinging to the slimmest of playoff chances.
Instead, he walked off the field knowing both his and the team’s seasons were effectively over.
Surgery was scheduled for Monday, marking the beginning of what will be a long and grueling rehab process. But if there’s a blueprint for bouncing back, Tom Brady knows it well-and he’s already offering guidance.
Brady, who tore his ACL in his ninth NFL season back in 2008, shared his perspective during an appearance on the *Let’s Go! * podcast with Jim Gray.
His message to Mahomes? Don’t look back-lock in and move forward.
“You’ve just got to focus on what’s ahead of you,” Brady said. “Don’t look back.
Say, ‘OK, this is part of what my career is going to be.’ A lot of people have gone through it and a lot of people have overcome it.”
Brady emphasized that the rehab process can’t be treated like a detour-it has to be attacked with the same intensity as game prep. “I always feel like the faster you rehab, the faster you can get back to practicing the sport that you love,” he explained.
“Sometimes people pace themselves. Instead of training mode, they’re in rehab mode.
I think you gotta get through rehab mode as fast as possible and then get back to training mode.”
That’s not just motivational talk-it’s lived experience. Brady’s ACL tear came in Week 1 of the 2008 season, a gut punch that ended his year before it had barely begun.
But the setback didn’t derail his career. He went on to play another 15 seasons, win four more Super Bowls, and collect two more MVPs.
That’s the path Mahomes now looks to follow.
There’s a poetic symmetry here. Both quarterbacks suffered their ACL injuries in their ninth NFL seasons.
Both had already hoisted the Lombardi Trophy three times. And both were at the center of dynasties that defined their eras.
Of course, the road back won’t be easy. ACL recovery is a grind, mentally and physically.
But if there’s one thing Mahomes has shown time and again, it’s that he doesn’t shy away from a challenge. Whether it’s coming back from a double-digit deficit in the Super Bowl or playing through injury in the playoffs, he’s built his legacy on resilience.
Brady sees that same quality in him.
“He’s very tough, he’s very resilient,” Brady said. “He’s going to work extremely hard to get back.”
For now, the Chiefs will have to navigate unfamiliar waters without their leader. The playoff streak is over.
The season is lost. But the long-term future?
That still runs through No. 15.
And if history is any guide, this might just be the start of Mahomes’ next chapter-not the end of an era.