Offseason stories about NFL players shedding weight are old-hat, tropey narratives regurgitated on the regular. Most times they have to do with an over-heavy lineman shedding extra pounds at a coach's behest or a running back getting back into shape to salvage his waning career.
Normally you don't hear a 24-year-old reigning MVP-winning quarterback with a rifle-rocket arm and squealy athleticism talk about getting into better shape.
Patrick Mahomes isn't your normal MVP. The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback told Terez Paylor of Yahoo Sports he's focused on shedding body fat this offseason.
"I've gotten more muscular and [have] less baby fat, I guess you would say," Mahomes told Paylor. "So that's been the big thing for me -- sculpting my body in the best way possible so I can go through the season and feel just as fresh at the end as I did at the beginning."
Mahomes, like many avid workout artists during the summer months, tweaked his workouts to sculpt muscle while shedding the unwanted fat.
"For me, offseason-training wise, it's all about trying to define [my body] ... trying to make sure I'm in the best shape possible, nutritionally and physically and mentally," Mahomes said. "So the big thing for me this offseason going in was, I wanted to gain muscle but at the same time, cut weight. Kind of a mixture of both."
Mahomes' goal is to shed three to five percent body fat by the time training camp opens July 26.
"The lowest I was last year after training camp was 12 percent, and that's pretty good," Mahomes said. "But now my goal is to be in the single digits, so I'm gonna try to get as low as I possibly can while still being healthy and still having the body to be able to take a full season."
After Mahomes tossed for 5,097 yards and 50 TDs to win the MVP trophy in his first full season as a starter, most analysts project the K.C. QB to come back to earth in 2019. Mahomes is working to ensure he remains among the bright stars.
