The Kansas City Chiefs' season on a yearly basis is reliant on the health of star QB Patrick Mahomes, but he's on track to play Week 1 as of now.
The 2025 season was one the Kansas City Chiefs organization and its fans would love to forget, as it marked the first time the team hadn’t made the playoffs in 11 years.
The Chiefs weren’t having a good season prior to the season-ending knee injury that star quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered late in Kansas City’s Week 15 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, but the loss of Mahomes was symbolic of the lost season.
Against common practice, which is typically waiting a few weeks to allow swelling to go down, Mahomes got surgery the very next day with the 2026 season on his mind.
Recovery time for ACL surgeries is six to 12 months, but because he tore his LCL as well, the recovery time was expected to be longer. And yet, Mahomes’ determination to be ready for Week 1 has him rehabbing like there’s no tomorrow.
When Mahomes first spoke to the media following his surgery, he was in good spirits and stated that he was hopeful to be ready to participate in OTAs and training camp. He had been working so hard to be ready for OTAs that his doctors told him to take it easy, but his hard work paid off.
Mahomes participated in OTAs and has been with the team during minicamp doing 7-on-7 drills but not 11-on-11 yet. It would be pretty incredible if he was doing those drills at this point, but the fact that he’s there and doing 7-on-7s is great to see.
“A Week 1 return feels like a strong possibility,” ESPN’s Dan Graziano wrote Tuesday. “The question then becomes whether the injury affects him moving forward, and if so for how long.”
Although the Chiefs upgraded at running back by signing Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Kenneth Walker III, the receiving room remains a problem, especially with the news regarding Rashee Rice.
Graziano also points out that star tight end Travis Kelce’s gas tank is nearing empty, so the team’s success is contingent on Mahomes’ health and how limited he is moving forward.
“So, the Chiefs still need Mahomes to be their difference-maker. The sooner he looks like his old self, the sooner we can get back to talking about the Chiefs as Super Bowl contenders.”
If Mahomes overcomes this knee injury and is back to his normal self, Kansas City should be able to rebound. If it takes longer for him to get back to the player we know him to be, the Chiefs could be in trouble in 2026.
