Patrick Mahomes working to stay injury-free in 2020
By John Buhler
Patrick Mahomes had a sensational 2019 season for the Kansas City Chiefs, but is working on staying injury-free heading into the 2020 NFL campaign.
Injuries are the only obstacles that could slow Patrick Mahomes down.
The Super Bowl 54 MVP has already done more in 36 career starts than just about anybody. At only 24-years-old, Mahomes has emerged as the face of the NFL. The future is incredibly bright for him and the Kansas City Chiefs. Even with all the talent in the world, Mahomes is positioning himself this offseason to stay as injury-free as possible heading into next fall.
“These first few weeks, I’ve really kind of been building the injury prevention stuff,” said Mahomes on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “The stuff I dealt with this year, with the ankle and with the knee, I’ve really been getting after that and trying to make sure that I can be 100 percent going into this next season, 120 percent, and ready to take on the impact of another entire football season.”
“Every year is different, you’ve got to find ways to go out there and win football games. As of right now, (the offseason) has been about my body and getting myself in the best shape possible.”
Last year, Mahomes dealt with a nagging ankle injury throughout much of the season, which limited his mobility early on. Most notably, he suffered a dislocated kneecap in the Chiefs’ Thursday Night Football game vs. the division rival Denver Broncos, causing him to miss 2.5 games for Kansas City mid-season.
Mahomes knows how important he is to the Chiefs organization, as they haven’t had a quarterback of his caliber since Len Dawson, or arguably, ever. If he is able to develop a more consistent pocket presence, Mahomes can become the greatest quarterback in NFL history.
Of course, he’s still trailing Tom Brady by five Lombardi Trophies in the Super Bowl department, but time is on Mahomes’ side, while it is Brady who is up against the clock at 43-years-old. Brady is nowhere near the football talent of Mahomes, but his intellect and the insane amount of work he puts into his body have made him the greatest quarterback of all time, without question.
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Kansas City must be ecstatic to hear its face of the franchise this concerned about taking care of his body this early in his career. While it was incredible to see him pound Coors Lights with tight end Travis Kelce during the Super Bowl 54 parade, it will be even cooler to see Mahomes hoist the Lombardi Trophy several more times before he hangs up the spikes many years from now.