Why did Patrick Mahomes credit Tom Brady and two other NFL veterans for helping him through ACL rehab?

Patrick Mahomes has handled plenty of big moments in his career. But this time, football was not the biggest challenge. Recovering from a serious knee injury tested his patience every single day. Instead of trying to figure it all out on his own, the Chiefs quarterback reached out to players who had already gone through the same situation. After Mahomes reported for the Kansas City Chiefs training camp at Missouri Western State University, Mahomes shared that conversations with Tom Brady, Tyrann Mathieu and Zach Ertz helped him stay positive during months of rehab after tearing the ACL and LCL in his left knee last December.Tom Brady was one of the first people Mahomes called. The reason was easy to understand. Brady had suffered a very similar injury back in 2008 when he tore the ACL and MCL in his left knee. He missed the rest of that season but came back stronger and went on to win four more Super Bowls.While speaking to reporters at Chiefs training camp, Mahomes said: "I talked to Tom early in the process because he had the same injury, a very similar injury that I had."Patrick Mahomes also spoke with former Kansas City Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu. Mathieu had torn his ACL and LCL in 2013 before later dealing with another ACL injury. Mahomes wanted to hear from someone who knew how hard the recovery could be and what it took to get back on the field. The player he stayed in touch with the most was veteran tight end Zach Ertz. Ertz tore his ACL just about a week before Mahomes got hurt. Since they were both recovering at the same time, they pushed each other through the long process.Looking back on those conversations at Chiefs training camp, Mahomes said: "We kind of had competitions on where we were at, and where we were rehabbing. It would start off as how much deadlift, what you're deadlifting, where you're at. And then send little videos. He's jumping and doing certain acceleration things, and I'm sending him next week doing cutting and stuff like that. It keeps the competition going because it's a long process."That friendly competition gave Mahomes something to look forward to. Rehab can feel slow, and most of the work happens away from the spotlight. Having someone going through the same thing made those days a little easier.Patrick Mahomes also admitted it was tough watching the Chiefs finish the 2025 season while he could only stand on the sidelines. Speaking at the same media session, he said those moments hurt, but they also gave him extra motivation to keep working.Now, Patrick Mahomes has cleared another big step. He is back at practice, and his next goal is to be fully ready for Week 1 of the 2026 season. His story shows that even one of the NFL's biggest stars sometimes needs advice from people who have been through the same challenge before.