Tom Brady’s Unexpected Advice to Patrick Mahomes Before His Crucial ACL Surgery Revealed

It’s wild how history has a way of repeating itself—and in the most unexpected ways. Back in 2008, during his ninth season in the NFL, Tom Brady faced one of the biggest setbacks of his career: a torn ACL. Fast forward to this past Sunday, and Patrick Mahomes found himself staring down the same daunting injury, matching the exact season and starter status Brady had over a decade ago. Now, if anyone knows the brutal grind of bouncing back from that kind of damage, it’s Brady. He recently shared some hard-earned wisdom on SiriusXM’s Let’s Go! podcast—insight forged from sheer will and relentless rehab. Mahomes, who plays a far flashier and more mobile game, faces not just the physical ordeal but the psychological challenge of reshaping his style on a ticking clock with less than nine months before kickoff 2026. Hearing Brady’s take on the brutal road to recovery? It’s a raw, no-fluff perspective that speaks to the heart of every pro athlete’s fight to get back. Dive deeper into the story and the advice Brady passes down. LEARN MORE.

In the first game of 2008, Tom Brady’s ninth NFL season and eighth as a starter, he suffered a torn ACL. On Sunday, Patrick Mahomes had the same injury in his ninth NFL season and eighth as a starter.

Appearing on SiriusXM’s Let’s Go! podcast, Brady had some advice for Mahomes.

“The only thing you can do is focus on what’s ahead of you and not look back,” Brady told host Jim Gray. “And just 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 know you love. I think sometimes people will pace themselves. Instead of training mode, they’re in rehab mode. I think you gotta get through rehab mode as fast as possible and then you get back to training mode. But that requires an all-out commitment and it’s the same commitment that the great professional athletes make to be great at their profession. When you go through the rehab process, you need that same level of focus and determination.”

Brady nevertheless said it won’t be easy.

“It’s a tough rehab,” Brady said. “It’s one of the toughest rehabs. I just remember every day pushing myself. And it’s always the same amount of pain and discomfort except you’re making progress through that pain and discomfort, which is a hard psychological thing to battle. You feel like, God, every day, it doesn’t feel right. Except you’re gaining range of motion and you’re gaining strength and you are on the road to recovery. So I wish him the very best.”

The difference between Brady and Mahomes is that Brady was a pocket passer. Mahomes relies on mobility, agility, and change of direction. More natural stress will be placed on Mahomes’s new ACL. That may require him to alter his playing style until the knee has fully recovered.

Also, Brady (whose recovery included an infection) had a full year to prepare to play again. Mahomes has fewer than nine months until the 2026 season begins.