Tom Brady has advice for Patrick Mahomes on ACL recovery

New England Patriots

“The only thing you can do it focus on what’s ahead of you and not look back,” Brady said.

Tom Brady praised Patrick Mahomes for his toughness during a recent episode of the “Let’s Go! podcast” and offered a bit of advice for the Chiefs star who has begun his rehab process for a torn ACL injury that he suffered on Sunday.

Brady noted that he tore his ACL during his ninth season in the NFL. Mahomes just concluded his ninth NFL season.

The Chiefs have three regular-season games left, but Mahomes won’t be available for them. He’s eyeing a possible return for Week 1 of next season, according to ESPN.

“It’s a tough injury, but I know one thing about Patrick,” Brady said. “He’s very tough and he’s very resilient. He’s going to work extremely hard to get back. You see these ACL tears happen a lot in the NFL and it’s tough to see it happen because you have these incredible athletes at the top of their game.

“You get hit the wrong way, or contorted a certain way and all the force goes to these knees or in some cases the ankles … it’s the nature of the sport.”

Brady wished Mahomes the best in his recovery. He was asked what he would tell Mahomes if he had the chance to chat with him.

“The only thing you can do it focus on what’s ahead of you and not look back,” Brady said. “Say ‘OK this is part of what my career is going to be, and a lot of people have gone through it and a lot of people have overcome it.’ You’ve just got to put as much diligence into the rehab process — and I always feel like, the faster you rehab, the faster you can get back to practicing the sport that you love.”

“I think sometimes people will pace themselves. Instead of training mode, they’re in rehab mode. I think you have to get through rehab mode as fast as possible and then you get back to training mode, but that requires an all-out commitment.”

Brady missed virtually all of the 2008 season after tearing his ACL in the opener against Kansas City. His return in 2009 sparked a streak of seven consecutive seasons in which he played in all 16 games. Brady retired in 2022 after 23 seasons in the NFL.

He said he was not worried that his ACL injury would be career-ending. He had confidence in the way he approached the rehab process.

“Fortunately I didn’t have those thoughts in year nine,” Brady said. “I was very blessed because I had my best friend take care of me for 20 years, Alex Geurrero, who has just been so masterful in taking care of my body for as long as I played … I think the way that I attacked my rehab was guided by him and it was such a blessing because I know my career would have been much shorter had he not been involved. I really attacked the rehab process in the best possible way.”

Khari A. Thompson

Sports Reporter

Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.