Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is making a speedy recovery, but Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid remains noncommittal on whether he’ll be ready for Week 1.
Mahomes tore the ACL in his left knee during a 16-13 home loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Dec. 14, 2025. Last week, the QB shared he’s already throwing. Reid still hasn’t clarified whether Mahomes will be ready for training camp, which is expected to begin in late July.
Andy Reid discusses Patrick Mahomes’ injury recovery
“Yeah, I’m going to defer to the experts on that,” Reid said at the annual league meetings in Phoenix on Tuesday, per Pro Football Talk’s Myles Simmons. “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.”
Why Andy Reid isn’t making promises about Patrick Mahomes being ready for Week 1
Mahomes may be recovering quickly, but the expected timeline for the injury suggests he may not be ready for the start of the season. It typically takes nine to 12 months to recover from an ACL tear.
Mahomes, though, is far from typical. During the 2022 season, he suffered a high right ankle sprain in a 27-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Divisional Round. He played the next two games, leading Kansas City to its third Super Bowl title. A torn ACL is much more severe, but it proves the QB is an ultimate competitor. That could help him return sooner than expected.
If he does, that will be a relief for Reid and company. Kansas City may struggle if backup QB Justin Fields starts the season. The 2021 first-round pick posted a below-average 38.7 QBR in nine games with the New York Jets last season. Mahomes, meanwhile, ranked sixth in the league in QBR (68.5 in 14 games).