Patrick Mahomes is hoping to be back for the Chiefs’ 2026 season opener.
The Kansas City quarterback opened up on Thursday for the first time since having surgery in December to repair ligaments in his left knee after tearing his ACL and LCL during their Week 15 playoff-eliminating loss to the Chargers.
“I want to be ready for Week 1. The doctors said I could,” Mahomes said. “But I can’t predict what happens throughout the process. That’s the goal, to play Week 1 and have no restrictions. You want to be out there healthy and give us the best chance to win. I hope to do some things in OTAs and training camp and be able to do things there.”
The recovery time for Mahomes’ injury is roughly nine months, give or take, depending on how the rehab process goes.
That timeline would put him in line to fully recover right around Week 1, which is set to kick off on Sept. 10.
It’s the first major rehab of Mahomes’ career, having played in at least 14 regular season games every year since taking over the starting job in Kansas City in 2018.
“Rehab’s going great so far, just hitting all the checkpoints that the doctor wants you to do, getting the strength and the range, mobility back,” Mahomes said. “So, that’s been going great, been doing all of it here in Kansas City so far. [Chiefs assistant athletic trainer] Julie [Frymyer] has been crushing it, pushing me. The doctor kind of gives you goals to get to, and I just maximize those, and they hold me back because I always want to go a little bit further. So, it’s been going great.”
With or without Mahomes, the Chiefs will look to get back into the postseason after falling short for the first time in more than a decade.
Finishing 5-12 this year, it was the first losing season for Andy Reid during his 13-year tenure in Kansas City.
When Mahomes returns, he could be playing under a new offensive coordinator.
Matt Nagy, who is in his second stint as the Chiefs’ OC, is seen as a favorite to land the Titans’ head coaching job.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
