Chiefs Coach Andy Reid Pumps the Brakes on Patrick Mahomes Week 1 Dreams
While Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is feeling good about Patrick Mahomes‘ recovery from an ACL tear, he wants fans to have realistic and cautious opinions about the quarterback being ready for Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season.
The Chiefs’ 2025 campaign fell well below expectations. After three straight trips to the Super Bowl, this era’s dynasty team finished the year with a 6-11 record. It was the team’s first losing season since Reid took over as head coach in 2013.
Yet what made it worse than just a down year was franchise face Mahomes suffering an ACL tear in a December loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Such a serious injury happening so late in the season seemingly put the QB’s availability for the first few weeks of next season in limbo.
However, recent posts from Mahomes on social media have given Kansas City fans hope he could be ready to go in Week 1 of the new season. Yet, his coach is trying to be more cautious about those hopes.
Andy Reid talks Patrick Mahomes Week 1 return possibilities
“Every player’s different,” Reid said at the NFL meetings on Tuesday [h/t Mike Garafolo]. “I will tell you, though, I would never bet against him. He’s always gonna put in the time, effort, and always push it, but within reason, so he doesn’t take steps back. So far, it’s all been positive.”
The legendary coach added that it is hard to place a general recovery timeline because players are so different. “Who makes the schedule?” he said.
Clearly, the Chiefs head coach does feel good about Mahomes’ rehabilitation. However, assuming he will be ready in Week 1 is a dangerous game. Since he is so valuable to his team, they must be careful and not rush him. The front office clearly isn’t overly confident he will be ready in time, and it’s why they made a trade this month for former Chicago Bears and New York Jets starter Justin Fields.
Andy Reid: Patrick Mahomes is doing well in knee rehab, we’ll see if he’s ready for camp
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is making steady progress in his rehab from reconstructive knee surgery, but it’s currently unclear when he’s going to be ready to fully participate in practice.
At the annual league meeting on Tuesday, Reid said that it’s difficult to determine if Mahomes is ahead of schedule. But so far, Mahomes is doing well.
While it seems unlikely that Mahomes would be able to participate in many aspects of the offseason program given that he suffered his torn ACL in December, there’s a chance he could be on the field for training camp. Reid was asked if, philosophically, he would rather have Mahomes on the field in a limited capacity or keep him on the physically unable to perform list to effectively protect the QB from himself.
“Yeah, I’m going to defer to the experts at that,” Reid said. “If he’s good to go, he’ll go. If he’s not, then we’ll manage that. So, we’ll just cross it as we go. Everybody’s different. Everybody heals different, everybody’s injuries are a little bit different. Put him in a category — but we’ll see. We’ll see where it goes. He’s doing good now, which is a plus. We’ll see.”
Mahomes recently posted a video of himself doing some light throwing, which is a positive sign for his recovery.
If Mahomes is not ready for the start of the regular season, the Chiefs now have Justin Fields as their backup quarterback.