Here is the typical recovery time for Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes’ ACL tear
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Chiefs confirm torn ACL for Patrick Mahomes; team explores surgical options.
- Typical Grade 3 ACL recovery spans eight to 12 months; return windows vary.
- Quarterback outcomes often favorable; timeline may compress to nine months.
It’s important to recognize that no two NFL injuries are the same, but when looking at Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ diagnosis, there is some hopeful history to consider.
The Chiefs announced Mahomes has a torn ACL in his left knee and will miss the rest of the season. Mahomes had surgery Monday night, the team later announced.
So what’s the prognosis for Mahomes?
Before that news Monday night, Tom Christ of the Motion Stability Physical Therapy Group shared an assessment of Mahomes’ injury. Christ said ACL surgeries typically take place two to four weeks after an injury.
“That would mean early January surgery which would put Week 1 of 2026 about 8-8.5ish months from time of surgery,” Christ wrote on X. “Would be extremely fast for Mahomes to play in Week 1 next year. Some players have returned that fast (Godwin) so not impossible, but fast. Any potential additional tissues needing healing would slow rehab even more.”
That’s Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin, who suffered a torn ACL and MCL in his knee during a Dec. 19, 2021 game but returned in time for the start of the 2022 season.
If Mahomes could be back for the 2026 opener, that would be a best-case scenario for him and the Chiefs.
A more recent example is Packers wide receiver Christian Watson, who returned to action in late October after the ACL in his right knee was torn in early January during Green Bay’s 2025 regular-season finale. That also was a roughly nine-month recovery time.
Types of ACL injuries
According to Johns Hopkins University, an ACL injury gets one of three grades:
Grade 1: The ACL is mildly stretched
Grade 2: A partial tear
Grade 3: The ACL is torn completely in half
The Chiefs said Mahomes’ ACL is torn but didn’t reveal the severity or the grade.
The Bass Medical Group said the typical recovery time for a Grade 3 ACL injury is eight to 12 months. Godwin’s return to the Buccaneers came on the early end of that timetable and Mahomes promised to return “stronger than ever.”
Christ said there are some reasons to be optimistic about Mahomes’ injury.
“Good news is QBs are less impacted when they return from an ACL, and it’s his left knee, not the one he pushes off to step up in the pocket or push-off to throw,” he wrote. “I’ll be curious to see if we get any more reporting in the short term, and I’m excited to see how he attacks rehab. He should get back to 100%, just a matter of when”
This story was originally published December 15, 2025 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Here is the typical recovery time for Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes’ ACL tear."
