For the first time this spring, on May 29, quarterback Patrick Mahomes addressed the media at the Kansas City Chiefs’ 2025 Organized Team Activities (OTAs). And he had an unintentionally scary message for the rest of the NFL.
“It’s hard, I feel like I focus every year because I know how special the run that we’re on [is], and [you never know] how many years [you’ll have] left with all these great players,” Mahomes first told reporters after being asked about drawing extra motivation from the Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
“You don’t want to miss an opportunity,” the superstar QB went on before admitting that the Chiefs have some extra juice fueling them in 2025.
“Obviously, when you lose a Super Bowl, I think there are times in [your] workouts where you may be a little tired, and you [find] that extra added motivation to finish even harder, finish even stronger,” he said. Adding: “I think [the defeat] will be good for us at the end of the day.”
“Obviously, looking back, you want to win the game,” Mahomes acknowledged, but he also reminded fans and the media that a lot of the younger players on this KC roster “hadn’t lost one” yet, meaning a Super Bowl.
“They’ll be motivated to go back out there and try to find a way to get to the Super Bowl and win it this year,” he concluded.
It is amazing to think that the Chiefs’ entire 2022 and 2023 draft classes had not experienced a non-championship season until the 2024-25 run. Players like Trent McDuffie, George Karlaftis, Isiah Pacheco, Bryan Cook, Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Chamarri Conner, Leo Chenal, Jaylen Watson, and several others.
Now, they’ll add the fire of defeat to their repertoire.
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes Says Star Injury Returnee Rashee Rice Looks Like His Old Self & Has ‘No Limitations’
Rice is another one of those draft picks who had not lost a Super Bowl since entering the league, except he wasn’t on the field for the Eagles’ blowout this February.
According to Mahomes, Rice already “looks like [the old] Rashee” as he works his way back from knee surgery.
“Obviously, having the injury, it sucked, but [with it] happening so early in the season he was back right when the offseason started,” Mahomes revealed, regarding Rice.
“So, he was up here working hard, extremely hard, and he was back home working extremely hard,” the Chiefs QB continued. Adding that he threw with Rice a bit in Dallas over the offseason.
“Getting him back out here, there’s no limitations,” Mahomes noted. “[Rice is] out there playing, he’s making plays on the football field, he’s explosive, he looks fast, and you saw the start of last season, I think he can be one of the best wide receivers in the league.”
Patrick Mahomes Has Noticed 1 Thing About Chiefs’ 2025 WR Corps at OTAs: ‘We’re Fast’
It feels like the Chiefs have been compiling speed ever since head coach Andy Reid entered the building, and the overall speed of KC’s 2025 WR corps has even stood out to Mahomes.
“We’re fast, that’s probably the thing that stands out the most,” the Chiefs signal-caller said of his wide receiver room on Thursday.
Citing trailblazers like Xavier Worthy, Rice, Hollywood Brown, Tyquan Thornton, and rookie Jalen Royals.
“We’ve got guys that can roll,” Mahomes warned. “And our job is to test the [opposing] defenses down the field, and we have to get back to doing that if we want to open up other guys underneath.”
Mahomes also relayed that Coach Reid has “challenged” him to push the ball down the field more again this offseason, another scary thought for the rest of the league.
