Patrick Mahomes Says He and Teammates "Have Been Back and We Have Been Working"
On Tuesday, NFL Network's James Palmer reported that members of the Kansas City Chiefs' offense were working on getting together for informal workouts "sooner rather than later." A few hours later, Patrick Mahomes confirmed that the team is back together and has already gotten to work.
Palmer, on NFL Network, discussed the reasons why the Chiefs' offense tries to get as many reps as possible during the offseason and some of the hurdles they've had to clear on their way back to the field.
"It might be sooner rather than later," Palmer said. "This is a group that likes to throw together in the offseason on their own a lot. They hang out a lot together. They get on the field quite a bit, even before OTAs. Obviously, they couldn't do that this season because everybody is dealing with the pandemic. Now, Patrick Mahomes is still in Texas. That's a part of this that needs to happen, and he needs to get to Kansas City."
Palmer continued, citing what he's heard regarding the players' plans and why it's so important to get extra work during the offseason in an Andy Reid offense.
"But what I'm told is most guys are trying to make their way back so they can throw. And the reason why they do all of this so much is because it's difficult to play in Andy Reid's offense. There's a lot asked of you as a skill position player to run the number of routes that he has for you and all that a toll it takes on your body. They like to go out and throw as much as possible. That's why a guy like Tyreek Hill is doing a thousand ab workouts a day to keep his core muscles strong. And that's why they like to have all these workouts. They could be happening now in Kansas City with these guys sooner rather than later."
Much sooner rather than later, apparently. Mahomes' tweet a few hours later would indicate that he has gotten back to Kansas City from Texas and that some amount of on-field workouts have gotten back into the rotation for Mahomes and at least some of the pass-catchers.
Obviously, in an offseason derailed by the Coronavirus pandemic, any work the players can get together will be helpful. Any restrictions, either from the NFL or from local governments, could also impact what the players will be able to do, but it sounds like Mahomes and his pass-catchers are already meeting up and getting back to work ahead of the 2020 season.