Kansas City Chiefs quarterback has done little on a football field since suffering a season-ending injury in December, but didn’t miss a beat as he took the field for training camp on Saturday.
The team had announced on Friday that Mahomes was cleared to participate in full, the final step of his rehab that started with surgery just days after suffering the injury. Mahomes looked sharp in some of his first action on Saturday, earning praise for his sharp throws.
Patrick Mahomes Looked Sharp in His Return
Reporter Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star noted that Mahomes made “several good throws” including a touchdown.
“The Chiefs are wrapping up their first workout in St. Joseph,” McDowell wrote. “Ethan Downs left early with an injury. Patrick Mahomes made several good throws, including a ball to Jimmy Holiday for a TD. A month to go.”
Other videos showed Mahomes working from under center during drills. The team is starting training camp with no pads, giving the Chiefs quarterback the chance to ease back into action.
The Chiefs may have given a lighter load to players on Saturday, as Chiefs Digest reporter Matt Derrick noted that the conditions on the field were rather harsh.
“Chiefs wrapping up the first practice of minicamp with a 1 hour, 45 minute workout,” Derrick wrote. “It’s 86 degrees, 99 heat index. Here’s a bit of Mahomes and company getting their work.”
The team will have several practices before working up to full pads and hitting, giving the team time to get Mahomes acclimated to live football action after being out since December.
Slow Return Expected for Patrick Mahomes
Mahomes had already participated in the team’s minicamp last month, but was a limited participant and did not take part in the 11-on-11 drills. The team is expected to take a careful approach to ramping him back up to full action, with ESPN reporter Nate Taylor predicting the team will hold him out of all three preseason games, keeping him under wraps until Week 1.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid hinted on Friday that the team would take it one step at a time, evaluating along the way to see how his surgically repaired knee is responding.
“Pat’s doing great with his [rehab],” Reid said. “Right now he’s got clearance to practice and do all the different periods that we have in this camp. We’ll just take it day by day and see how he does. He’ll have plenty of eyes on him from coaches to trainers to doctors.
“But right now, he’s been cleared to go ahead and participate fully.”
Reid stopped just short of naming Mahomes the starter for Week 1, though Mahomes himself has said throughout the offseason that he plans to be on the field for the season opener.
“I’m optimistic, and I know he is extremely optimistic,” Reid said. “But I think you’ve got to see how things go here. Let’s just see where we’re at and not make any predictions or anything else. Take it day by day and see where it goes.”
Chiefs Get Good News as Patrick Mahomes Returns to the Field on Saturday