Patrick Mahomes and Maxx Crosby have spent years making each other’s lives difficult. Apparently, that relationship doesn’t stop when they leave the football field.
Before Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs meet Crosby and the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, the Chiefs quarterback revealed a more personal side to one of the NFL’s best rivalries.
Both stars spent much of the offseason recovering from serious knee injuries. Mahomes was working his way back after suffering ACL and LCL injuries. Crosby was going through his own rehabilitation after a meniscus injury.
Eventually, Crosby reached out.
“He actually texted me right when I got cleared to play,” Mahomes said Wednesday.
Crosby’s message was simple.
“Hey, we’re both back.”
Mahomes had an answer ready.
“Let’s show the world who we are.”
Now they get that opportunity against each other.
Patrick Mahomes, Maxx Crosby Shared Difficult Offseason
There aren’t many people who can completely understand what an elite professional athlete experiences while rehabilitating a significant injury.
Crosby could. So could Mahomes.
Their respective injuries created questions about each player’s recovery and what he would look like upon returning to the field.
Both managed to make it back for the start of the 2026 season. Even more remarkably, their teams have started perfectly.
Kansas City and Las Vegas enter Sunday’s game at 3-0, turning their first matchup of the season into an early AFC West showdown.
It also adds another chapter to the Mahomes-Crosby relationship.
MORE: How Much Does Patrick Mahomes Make?
Friendship Disappears Once Chiefs-Raiders Begins
Mahomes and Crosby can exchange supportive messages away from the field. Once the game starts, forget about it. Crosby has already described facing Mahomes in much more aggressive terms, saying on his podcast that “It’s war.”
Mahomes understands.
He described Crosby on Wednesday as one of the NFL’s best competitors and said the Raiders star forces him to be at his best.
That’s what makes their relationship so fascinating.
These are two players who genuinely seem to respect each other. They understand what the other went through just to get back onto an NFL field this season.
They can even encourage each other during the difficult moments.
Then Sunday arrives. Crosby will spend the afternoon trying to chase Mahomes down. Mahomes will spend it trying to make sure he can’t. The text messages can wait until later.
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