KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs' star quarterback, returned to the field with his teammates Tuesday for the first time since experiencing the most significant injury of his career, participating in the team's opening OTA practice.
The extent of Mahomes' participation wasn't revealed, since the session was closed to reporters, but the Chiefs posted video of the star QB making a throw on the field, with a brace on his left knee.
The Chiefs' first practice that will be open to reporters is set for Thursday, which is expected be the next step in seeing the full extent of Mahomes' progress during his rehab and recovery from the surgery he had Dec. 15 to repair the torn ACL and LCL in his left knee.
"Phase 2 [of the offseason program], remember, there's no contact and there's no offense versus defense," coach Andy Reid said earlier this month about Mahomes. "It's Phase 3 that you get into that."
Even if Mahomes participates in a limited capacity this week, his on-field work is still a positive factor in the quarterback's long-term goal. Since his injury -- which occurred late in a Dec. 14 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers -- Mahomes has made it his mission to be on the field for the Chiefs' opening night, which will be a "Monday Night Football" home game Sept. 14 against the Denver Broncos. In recent weeks, the Chiefs have become optimistic that Mahomes will be in uniform that night.
Throughout his rehab, Mahomes has spent plenty of days inside the Chiefs' training facility. He has most often worked with Julie Frymyer, one of the team's top athletic trainers who also has helped him recover from previous injuries throughout his nine-year career.
Before this week, the lone footage of Mahomes throwing a football since his surgery was a short clip he posted on his Instagram account in late March. In the four-second clip, Mahomes, inside a training gym, executed a five-step dropback at a moderate tempo before releasing the ball, which appeared to be an intermediate pass.
Mahomes has increased his workout sessions since then, which allowed him to be on the field for Tuesday's practice.
