On December 14 last year, the Kansas City Chiefs saw their season unravel when star quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered a season-ending torn ACL and LCL in his left knee against the LA Chargers. The 16–13 loss in that game not only resulted in Mahomes’ injury but also officially eliminated the Chiefs from the playoffs for the first time in his career as a starter. That’s why his return before the 2026 season is a major question mark at Arrowhead. Speaking with NFL senior national columnist Judy Battista on Saturday at the annual league meeting in Phoenix, head coach Andy Reid acknowledged Patrick Mahomes’ steady progress. However, he stopped short of giving a firm timeline for the two-time MVP’s return.

“He’s doing great,” Andy Reid told Judy Battista. “He spends a ton of time in the building… He’s in there for seven hours a day. It’s showing the progress. Now, to tell you a timeline?

I mean, I know what he’s striving for. We’ll see where it goes from there.”

Injuries like these take around eight to nine months of recovery for an average person. The more you wait for your return, the lower the risk of getting injured again. The season is expected to kick off on Sept. 10, 2026, which is six days less than the probable nine-month time. The Chiefs could play their first game a few days later. So does this mean that the 30-year-old will have to skip the season opener?

Mahomes has previously suffered major injuries, but it has never affected his game. In January 2021, he suffered a turf toe injury in his left foot during a divisional playoff game against the Cleveland Browns. The star QB played through the pain during the remainder of the postseason, including Super Bowl LV. Only after that, Mahomes underwent surgery to repair the toe and fully recovered by the start of the 2021 training camp. However, it’s needless to say that an ACL tear is a whole different story.

“Every player is different. Every sport is different. [And] every position is different,” said Rick Burkholder, the Chiefs’ vice president of sports medicine and performance. “(Mahomes) is so in tune to what he does, he does it a little quicker. Ballpark on this is nine months, but it could be a month or two more, a month or two less.”

If everything goes well, Mahomes should take his time until September 2026, and the two-time MVP remains confident that he will return early, possibly by Week 1.

“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.”

A timeline like that isn’t impossible. Earlier players have already set precedents for such comebacks. Vikings running back Adrian Peterson made one of the most famous recoveries in sports history. He tore both his ACL and MCL on December 24, 2011, against the Washington Redskins. After six days, he underwent surgery, and 8 months later, he was back on the field. His return carried a lot of doubts, but in the end, Peterson performed at an elite level.

He completed 2,097 yards (just 9 yards shy of the all-time single-season record) and was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player. Most recently, wide receiver Chris Godwin’s 2022 return was statistically impressive. He led a much more ambitious timeline to return than most players, targeting the team’s season opener against Dallas, barely eight months after surgery. In that game, he recorded 3 receptions for 35 yards, but suffered a hamstring injury. He sat out the next two days so he could return against the Chiefs. This kind of risk still exists when you return this early.

Based on these two examples, Patrick Mahomes has all the necessary arrangements in place to ensure a smooth comeback. Plus, modern medicine has significantly reduced the recovery time for ACL injuries. After the surgery, Mahomes has been conducting most of his daily rehab in Kansas City with Chiefs physical therapist Julie Frymyer. Additionally, He is also travelling to Dallas for checkups with Dr. Dan Cooper (who performed his surgery) and his team.

While Mahomes is aiming to be back for Week 1 of the 2026 season, he recently offered an encouraging glimpse of his recovery. The 30-year-old shared a video of himself taking part in limited on-field work, wearing a black compression sleeve on his leg.

“Day by Day! Felt Great being able to throw the ball around today!” the caption read.

He appeared in good shape in these recent clips, although it is still too early to determine whether he is at full strength. On top of that, Mahomes was at his alma mater, Texas Tech, earlier this week. The Chiefs’ star spent time with several Red Raiders players in Lubbock and even made a few throws. Mahomes is the centerpiece of the Chiefs’ offense and their hopes of returning to the Super Bowl. That’s why his recovery timeline will be a crucial piece of information, based on which the team will plan its offensive scheme for the upcoming season.

Moreover, Andy Reid has been clear about how his QB1 has been working hard to reach 100% fitness ahead of the new season.

“He’s around here all the time,” coach Andy Reid said last month of Mahomes. “He spends a ton of time here, seven hours a day. He’s in there cranking away and making progress every day. It’s great to see. Julie grinds on him, keeps him on task, and challenges him. He keeps showing up. That’s about half the battle on these things when you have these injuries.”

With the diligence he’s shown so far in getting better, Mahomes stands every chance of making it back to the field in time. However, it’s better to have a backup plan than to regret later. That’s why the Chiefs’ front office made another move to bolster its quarterback room, which is making Andy Reid hopeful for big wins in Showtime’s absence.

Andy Reid has big hopes for Patrick Mahomes’ new backup

After Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs had to settle for backup signal-callers like Gardner Minshew and Chris Oladokun to finish the last season. However, that didn’t work out well for the franchise. Minshew saw the end of his season with a non-displaced tibial plateau fracture in his left knee in Week 16. Hence, it was Oladokun who took Kansas City over the finish line, with the franchise taking third place in the AFC West.

To avoid such a situation in 2026, the Kansas City front office completed a big trade for former New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields for a package involving a 2027 sixth-round pick. Reacting to this move, Reid expressed optimism about his new signal-caller, despite Fields’ disappointing season with 1,259 yards, 7 TDs, and one INT, adding four rushing scores.

“Well, we snuck out and got a good quarterback to back him up,” Reid said when asked if the team’s offseason planning has been for Mahomes to be ready Week 1. “So, if he doesn’t, you know, if he’s not able to make it for the beginning of the season, then we know we’ve got a legitimate backup there that can go win games for us.”

With a cloud of doubt looming over Patrick Mahomes’ return for Week One of the season, legendary head coach Andy Reid will hope to maximize backup Justin Fields’ talents and give the Chiefs the perfect start to push for a Super Bowl.