Patrick Mahomes appears to be recovering like one of the X-Men.
Both the Kansas City Chiefs and their star quarterback Mahomes are leaning into the possibility of a return in Week 1 of the 2026 season, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported on Thursday. Fowler added that Mahomes has progressed to 7-on-7 work and is now eyeing the potential of 11-man work as minicamp wraps up.
Mahomes, 30, tore both the ACL and the LCL in his left knee during a game on Dec. 14 (see the video here). He then underwent surgery the following day in order to repair the damage.
The median recovery from ACL tears in the NFL is around 9-10 months. The Chiefs begin the 2026 season on Sept. 14, which would mark exactly 9 months to the day since Mahomes’ injury.
For the three-time Super Bowl MVP Mahomes, he has been participating in OTAs for Kansas City and has long been targeting Week 1 for his potential return. That said, it is one thing to be targeting a Week 1 return and quite another to be realistically on pace for it.
Still, Mahomes appears to be checking off every box in his recovery up to this point, and now the team is apparently even starting to see Week 1 as a legitimate possibility for him. The Chiefs did trade for Justin Fields earlier this offseason, but Mahomes (who just set a record earlier this week with his massive new Kansas City contract) just might make it back in time to reclaim the starting job from the get-go of the 2026 season.
