KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Justlikethat, Patrick Mahomes is the fourth-longest tenured Chief, the seventh-oldest on the roster and a father of three just weeks from turning 31.

Most likely but not certainly with him in the lineup after relentless rehabilitation from a 2025 season-ending knee injury, Mahomes suddenly will begin his 10th NFL season Sept. 14 against Denver at Arrowhead Stadium.

Tenth. Season.

“Phew, wow,” offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy said, summing it up nicely as he shook his head.

For all the profound impact of the Mahomes Era, all that will remain indelible for generations and all that still could be, that reality conjure a jarringly fleeting sensation, too.

This age that has transformed what it means to be a Chiefs fan, and even Kansas City’s self-image, really won’t last forever.

While there seems ample reason to anticipate a return to playoff contention, and then some, last season’s 6-11 mess — and their superstar QB’s injury — were flickering reminders that the Mahomes phenomenon is finite.

Relish it now.

Not just because of what he’s become but who he’s remained — the sort of guy you can be proud to root for not just as a talent but as a person.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid knows that as well as anyone. He likes to tell assistant coaches and others to be grateful for the moments with Mahomes, rarity that he is. But he playfully deflected a recent question about how much he’s doing that himself as time goes by.

“I don’t worry about it,” the 68-year-old Reid said with a smile, “because he’s going to be here a lot longer than I am.”

For his part, Mahomes is conscious enough of the pace that he’ll tell you it definitely feels like it’s going quick.

So much so that he is grateful even for the spartan grind of training camp at Missouri Western in St. Joseph. Including listening to “this music I’ve never heard of,” he said, as part of being “the old guy” now.

“Enjoy the little moments. Enjoy the time at camp. Enjoy the cafeteria,” he said. “Because all of a sudden you’re going to look up, and you’re not going to be coming back here.”

He added, “I hope that’s a long ways away.”

‘Always amazed’

Before Mahomes led the Chiefs to five Super Bowls in six seasons and became a two-time NFL MVP and three-time Super Bowl MVP, the Chiefs created a stir by trading up to select him 10th overall in the 2017 NFL draft.

Some were skeptical about his NFL prospects because of footwork and impressions he could be reckless with the football while he was playing for Texas Tech.

But between the breathless conviction of then-co-director of player personnel Brett Veach and the near-instant mind-meld Mahomes had achieved with Reid pre-draft, the Chiefs saw something deeper and different.

They saw the future … after what would essentially be a redshirt year of tutelage behind veteran Alex Smith.

While it was testament to Smith’s character that he became a key mentor to Mahomes, the dynamic also was evidence of something defining and abiding in Mahomes.

He had the humility to understand that he’d be best-served by that year of apprenticeship, a time during which he charmed teammates with that winsome way:

Then and now, somehow Mahomes enjoyed the rare gift of being able to at once be entirely among the group even as he stood out beyond all.

And he wasn’t just conspicuous because of what Travis Kelce brought up when asked about his first impressions of Mahomes.

“The frequency of his voice,” he said, imitating Mahomes’ gravelly twang.

Mostly, though, it was about the frequency of all he was doing.

Wowing on the field, leaving Bieniemy “always amazed,” even as he was creating the sorts of relationships all over the team that would enable him to flourish as a leader.

‘He’s the same guy’

Long snapper James Winchester, who along with Kelce and Chris Jones is one of only three Chiefs who preceded Mahomes in Kansas City, remembers first getting to know Mahomes when he’d golf with the specialists and other special teams players.

That was consistent with being the kid who made sure his coaches knew when it was a teammates’ birthday, the kid seventh-grade English teacher Dee Landers was always glad to have walk in the room because he’d smile and acknowledge everybody.

All these accolades and swift-but-eventful years later, the persona of the guy who became a wonder of the world remains intact and part of his unique appeal.

You can see that from the outside looking in: He still never rolls his eyes or gets snarky over a media question, typically is eager to discuss his own mistakes and agreeably prefaces most answers with a “Yeah ...”

Perhaps more significantly, though, that’s the essence of what we also don’t routinely see.

As much as he’s grown as a player and person, Mahomes never has deviated from what makes him who he is: a driven competitor who is still down to Earth despite stratospheric fame.

Fiery leader that he can be, he’s also still playing pingpong or shooting baskets with the guys, Winchester said, and still talking to everyone …

Even if the conversations have changed over the years to, say, being about their kids.

“He’s the same guy to everyone on the team …, (and) he never changed,” said Winchester, who is awed by Mahomes’ ongoing humility. “He relates to all the guys. All the great leaders that I’ve gotten to be around in my lifetime, those guys can relate to their teammates and relate to the people around them.”

Considering the same premise of how rooted Mahomes has remained, Bieniemy said, “That’s exactly who he is. He has not changed. You ask anybody in this building, and they’ll tell you the exact same thing.

“So,” he added, “love him.”

‘Forever indebted’

Part of all that is how Mahomes’ love of the game also still reverberates. You saw it just the other night in Tampa, when he was about the first one out on the field to congratulate Harrison Butker for his 69-yard field goal.

“It’s just such a cool sport …, (because) it takes everybody,” Mahomes said, adding, “I was as excited, I think, as he was.”

But no one has generated that feeling more than Mahomes, starting with some jaw-dropping throws in his first NFL start in the 2017 regular-season finale and accelerating with his true debut in 2018 with 10 touchdown passes in the first two games.

That season ended in heartbreak with the 37-31 overtime loss to New England in the AFC Championship Game, but you got the feeling it wasn’t merely another in the sequence of tortured postseason endings but the start of something.

Certainly, Winchester recalled, “the team dynamic just kind of shifted.”

Even for the specialists: Then-punter Dustin Colquitt had been called on an average of 79 times in 13 seasons before Mahomes’ debut as QB1.

In 2018 …

“We just, like, never punted that year,” Winchester said.

While leading the NFL in scoring, the Chiefs punted just 45 times that season … and 48 a year later. As they finished fourth in scoring in 2021, the Chiefs set the 17-game NFL record for fewest punts, with 40.

It’s just another way of describing what he’s meant.

“We’re kind of forever indebted to the guy,” Winchester said.

Immune to complacency

Paralleling how he’s stayed true to himself, Mahomes by all indications still is immune to complacency. He displayed a new frontier of that with his zealous approach to rehabbing his knee

“So proud of the way he (has) handled adversity,” said Kelce, whose uncanny on-field connection with Mahomes mirrors their closeness as friends.

In turn, Kelce added, that further sets the tone and standard. And it adds to Mahomes’ authority to hold others accountable during the dog days of camp and get the best out of them “without them turning on you.”

That’s some serious currency for Mahomes to be taking into Season 10 with so much still in front of him — both in terms of years to play, presumably, and goals to chase.

Only Tom Brady (35-13) has quarterbacked more playoff wins than Mahomes (17-4).

And only three men in NFL history have quarterbacked more Super Bowl victories than Mahomes’ three: Brady with seven and Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana with four each.

Of note: Brady won his final four Super Bowls between the ages of 37 and 43.

While Mahomes may or may not have such a specific aim in mind, Veach put it this way when I asked him a few years ago if he believes Mahomes wants to be known as the best there ever was:

“I think,” he said, “he wakes up every day with that in mind.”

With such an apparently long runway before him, it’s obviously unclear how much longer Mahomes will play. The last time he really spoke about it was a year ago, when he said he’d love to play as long as Brady but fretted about missing family commitments as his children grew older.

“If I feel like it’s taking away from my family time,” he said, “that’s when I’ll know it’s time to go.”

Meanwhile, he’s not apt to let anything behind him gain on him.

And it still feels like that means years and years and years of this magic ahead.

But as this milestone and his injury last season reiterate, this is temporary and precarious.

Let’s savor it while we can.

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