Mahomes says Chiefs players imitate voice to keep him grounded

The increase in exposure and popularity of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has resulted in a number of people hearing his voice for the first time, and there have been some not-so-flattering jokes made at his expense as a result. For instance, one user on Reddit’s NFL message board the other day likened Mahomes’ scratchy voice to “a chain-smoking muppet,” while another said it sounds like he’s talking through a fan. Radio station WFAN in New York City joked Tuesday about how Mahomes’ voice sounds like singer Louis Armstrong, even including a Chiefs-flavored version of “What A Wonderful World” to go along with it. Even Chiefs players and head coach Andy Reid have been poking some fun at Mahomes’ voice, as he said in an interview with ESPN this week that whenever the team feels the need to bring him back down to earth, the players do imitations of his voice in the locker room. 

Mahomes seems to be doing a fine job of keeping a level head in spite of his recent success, which in addition to a growing national spotlight includes leading his team to a 4-0 start while throwing for 1200 yards, 14 touchdowns, and zero interceptions. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to see he isn’t fazed by most of it, considering he grew up around pro sports with his father being a pitcher in Major League Baseball. Still, if his teammates ever feel he needs some humbling, they can always resort to doing their best Mahomes impression. 

“If I’m ever getting too big of a head, they just kind of bring out the voice,” Mahomes told ESPN’s Lisa Salters (via BusinessInsider.com). “They try to mimic my voice, so that’s kind of gotten its thing in the locker room.”

The one who does the best impersonation, according to Mahomes, is actually Andy Reid. But unfortunately, it sounds like Reid’s Mahomes voice may never find its way into the public eye. 

“He would never do it in front of everybody, but he has the perfect imitation of the voice,” Mahomes told Salters.

Of course it’s all in good fun, and Mahomes actually views the ribbing as being part of a formula for success the Chiefs have been working to create. If players and Andy Reid doing imitations of his voice happens to help make the Chiefs a great team, it sounds like Mahomes would be all for it. 

“We have a great locker room,” Mahomes told Salters. “We have a great group of guys. We all talk trash, but at the same time we all build each other up. I feel like if you have that within a locker room, that’s the teams that have a lot of success in this league. So we’re going to keep building on that, keep building on our relationships and keep building on the season.”