Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is growing ever closer to his return to the field after suffering a season-ending injury last season, but the team could make him wait longer to see live action.
Mahomes is on track to fully participate in training camp when it starts next week, marking a speedy recovery from the torn ACL he suffered in December. The team is expected to take a measure of caution for the preseason, with one insider predicting the team will sit Mahomes out for the first time in his career.
Chiefs Expected to Keep Patrick Mahomes in Bubble Wrap
In a preview of the team’s upcoming training camp, ESPN reporter Nate Taylor noted that the biggest question will be when Mahomes can return to full strength. It often takes players a year or more to return to the field, and even longer to regain their previous level of athleticism.
“Starting in camp, Mahomes hopes he can continue to heal faster than most players who sustained a torn ACL and LCL,” Taylor wrote. “If Mahomes is successful, Kansas City could very likely be back in the postseason and in position to make a push toward another Super Bowl appearance.”
Taylor noted that the Chiefs won’t be pushing Mahomes, and will likely hold him out of the preseason for the first time in his career.
“The Chiefs will also need to figure out the best measures to help Mahomes, in camp and throughout the season, including potentially holding him out of the preseason, which would be a first in his 10-year career,” Taylor wrote.
Chiefs Will Start Mahomes Slow
SI.comâs Albert Breer also predicted the Chiefs would take a cautious approach, noting that he participated in the team’s minicamp but was held out of 11-on-11 drills.
âThis year, the Chiefs are going back to having quarterbacks and rookies report three days earlier than the rest of the team after having everyone come to camp together the past few years, meaning Mahomes will be in St. Joseph, Mo., on Friday,â Breer wrote. âThe assumption, knowing him as a person, is that heâll be champing at the bit to get on the field, as he was in the spring. And while that enthusiasm is appreciated, itâs also a reminder to exhibit some caution.â
So while the Chiefs have fully cleared Mahomes to play, they’ll continue to be careful about how much workload they give him and his surgically repaired knee, Breer added.
âSo the plan is to be smart with it, and make sure everyone is doing whatâs going to put him in the best position to be at his best from September through February, not just ready for Week 1,â Breer wrote.
The Chiefs will be facing some significant pressure in 2026, missing the playoffs last year for the first time in more than a decade. The rising Denver Broncos will again offer a major challenge to returning to AFC West supremacy, while the Las Vegas Raiders are rebuilding around quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
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