After tearing his ACL and LCL in Week 15 of the 2025 season and undergoing surgery, Patrick Mahomes believes he has a real shot to get back on the field sooner rather than later. With Kansas City looking to bounce back after a 6-11 season, Mahomes has one clear goal in mind: returning for Week 1 of the 2026 season. But that’s where Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk stepped in with a word of caution.

“Mahomes wants to be ready for week one,” Florio said recently on his Pro Football Talk podcast while talking to Michael Holley. “And the later in the year that you suffer an ACL tear, the harder it is to be ready.”

“We need to temper our expectations with Mahomes and [Micah] Parsons, especially Mahomes,” Florio added. “When you consider Michael, how much of his game is premised on lateral movement and putting unique pressure and stress on the knee ligaments, you want to be damn sure that thing’s healthy before he starts doing all those special things we’ve seen him do behind the line of scrimmage.”

Mike Florio made it clear that Patrick Mahomes’ style of play makes his recovery even trickier. Mahomes isn’t just a pocket passer—his creativity and scrambling make him special. Asking that repaired knee to handle all of that less than a year after surgery is a huge gamble for Mahomes.

But Florio also pointed to former Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson’s famous comeback. Peterson tore his ACL and MCL in December 2011. But after just six months of recovery, he returned in the Week 1 game of 2012 to play against the Jacksonville Jaguars and recorded 84 yards for 2 touchdowns.

It was a legendary comeback, but also extremely rare and not without pain for Peterson. That’s why Florio believes fans need to slow down and temper their expectations about Mahomes being fully ready in Week 1 of 2026.

The Chiefs’ QB suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of the Week 15 game against the Los Angeles Chargers. While trying to extend a play, Mahomes took a hit that caused his left knee to buckle awkwardly. He needed help leaving the field, and an MRI later confirmed the worst: a torn ACL. Further tests revealed that Mahomes also tore his LCL, which was also repaired in a season-ending surgery.

Now, even though Patrick Mahomes has dealt with injuries before, this marks his first truly major one with a long rehab timeline. That’s why Michael Holley agreed with Florio’s concerns and emphasized that both the Chiefs and the QB need to show restraint.

“We’ve got to make sure we just kind of hold them [expectations] back a little bit because Patrick Mahomes is going to do all that—‘Okay, physical pain, no problem, I’ll deal with it,’” Holley said. “I think Kansas City is going to have to really go above and beyond to make sure that he is not doing too much and trying to get on the field by any means, even if he’s not 100% ready to go.”

The Chiefs have likely set benchmarks for Patrick Mahomes’ recovery, but as Holley pointed out, Mahomes will always want to go a little further, a little faster. Fans obviously want Mahomes back as soon as possible, but more importantly, they want the best version of him on the field. That’s why Holley also thinks Kansas City needs a real backup plan. 

With the Chiefs missing the playoffs for the first time since 2014, this offseason offers a chance to reset. As such, Michael Holley expects the Chiefs to bring in a backup QB, either through free agency or the draft, who can start a few games in 2026 if Patrick Mahomes isn’t ready for Week 1. 

Patrick Mahomes shares an update on his injury and recovery timeline

After undergoing surgery in mid-December, Patrick Mahomes has been rehabbing at the Chiefs’ facility with the Chiefs’ trainer, Julie Frymyer. But during a Zoom call on January 15, he made it clear that he is hitting the right checkpoints so far in rehab. If things continue to go well, Mahomes hopes to return for summer workouts and be ready for training camp. And yes, he still has his eyes on Week 1 as a firm deadline to come back on the field.

“I want to be ready for Week 1,” Patrick Mahomes said. “The doctors said I could. But I can’t predict what will happen throughout the process. That’s the goal—to play Week 1 and have no restrictions. You want to be out there healthy and give us the best chance to win. I hope to do some things in OTAs and training camp and be able to do things there.”

If everything goes as planned, Patrick Mahomes will return to play in the Chiefs’ 2026 season opener on September 10. His return would be massive for the Chiefs’ offensive unit, which struggled in 2025.

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Despite Mahomes throwing for 3,587 yards with 22 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 14 games, Kansas City ranked just 20th in the NFL in total offense, averaging 320.6 yards per game. And so, with big roster decisions and coaching changes already underway, the Chiefs could look very different by the time Mahomes returns to play.