Patrick Mahomes provides injury update with big message for Andy Reid and Chiefs about return date

Patrick Mahomes faces a long recovery from his knee injury, but the quarterback is determined to come back stronger. His words should encourage Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs as the team aims to turn things around in 2026.

“The Dr. gives you goals to get to and I try to maximize those,” Mahomes said of his rehab on Wednesday, via Charles Goldman of A to Z Sports. More importantly, the Chiefs quarterback talked about his potential return date, letting Reid and everyone in Kansas City know that he plans to be available for Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season.

“Long term, I want to be ready for Week 1… Hopefully, I’ll be able to do some stuff in OTAs and get to training camp and do some stuff there,” Mahomes said, revealing that, though a long shot, the doctors said it’s possible.

What injury is Mahomes recovering from?

Mahomes suffered a torn ACL and LCL during the Chiefs’ Week 15 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in December, an injury that required him to go under the knife and face a recovery that could take up to nine months.

Patrick Mahomes after a Chiefs game.

The NFL campaign starts in September, which makes Mahomes’ recovery a race against the clock to be ready for the season opener. “We have a great plan in place as far as where we want to get to. We’ve got to let it all play out and take it one day at a time,” Mahomes added.

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Providing more details about the near future, Mahomes said he’ll do most of his rehab in Kansas City, but will also travel to Dallas to visit with Dr. Dan Cooper, who performed his knee surgery in December.

“As bad as it was, it was as clean as it could be… there’s a lot of little things around the knee that can prolong the recovery,” Mahomes continued, providing a reminder for those expect him a fast recovery.

Reid, Chiefs need to add at QB room in 2026

Though Mahomes intends to do some practice while his knee heals, Reid will probably need more quarterbacks to work with in training camp until his franchise QB completely recovers.

Reid and the Chiefs recently missed out on a chance to bring back a familiar quarterback in Bailey Zappe, who signed a reserve/future deal with the New York Jets. With Garder Minshew hitting free agency, the Chiefs head into the new leaguer year with Chris Oladokun as their only healthy quarterback. Even if Mahomes’ recovery goes incredibly well, it’s safe to say that more QBs are needed in Kansas City.