The 2026 NFL regular season might yet be eight months away, but it’s already squarely in the crosshairs of injured Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
The two-time league MVP, now one month removed from reconstructive surgery on the torn ACL and LCL that prematurely ended his 2025 campaign, provided an update on the recovery of his damaged left knee while also signaling his intentions for the fall.
“Rehab’s going great so far – just hitting all the checkpoints that the doctor wants you to do and getting the strength and the range of mobility back,’ Mahomes said Thursday while being interviewed remotely.
‘The doctor kind of gives you like goals to get to. I just try to maximize those – they hold me back, because I always want to go a little bit further.’
The three-time Super Bowl MVP and six-time Pro Bowler said all of his rehab thus far has occurred in Kansas City. An isolated endeavor in the best of circumstances, Mahomes is pushing ahead with his medical plan at a time when his team is dispersed − the Chiefs missing the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. Since he became the team’s starting quarterback in 2018, Mahomes had never failed to lead the team as far as the AFC championship game prior to this season.
But while he and his teammates are out of the postseason, Mahomes doesn’t plan to miss another significant start.
“Obviously, I think the long term, I mean I want to be ready for Week 1,’ he said. ‘The doctor said that I could be, but I can’t predict what’s gonna happen throughout the process. But that’s my goal, and so I’ll try to prepare myself to be ready to play in that Week 1 and have no restrictions – you know, you want to be out there healthy and giving us the best chance to win.’
As for the remainder of his offseason football forecast?
‘Obviously, I’ll hopefully be able to do some stuff in OTAs and get to training camp and hopefully be able to do a lot there,’ Mahomes said. ‘So, I’m excited for the process. It’s a long process, but I’m excited for it.”
Prior to 2025, Mahomes had only missed five starts since the start of the 2018 campaign − mostly because the team had the luxury of resting him during regular-season finales on three different occasions.
Statistically, this season was Mahomes’ worst by the numbers since he became QB1 − his 3,587 passing yards, 22 TDs passes, 62.7% completion rate and 89.6 QB rating all career lows. He did establish personal bests by rushing for 422 yards and five TDs − though that was largely by necessity due to K.C.’s weak run game and probably not a performance the team wants its most important player to replicate moving forward.
Mahomes’ health is among myriad offseason issues facing the Chiefs − tight end Travis Kelce’s decision about whether to retire and wide receiver Rashee Rice’s latest legal issues chief among them.