Chiefs Nation is eagerly awaiting the return of star quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Football season is here, and so is the time when the Kansas City quarterback should get clearance to play. That has been the center of discussions around him all offseason, and it has nagged him enough to use it as a dig at journalists.
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Ahead of the season opener against the Denver Broncos, after Mahomes finished answering everyone, he joked, “Hopefully I’m done with the questions about the leg,” per a video shared by NFL insider Ari Meirov.
The reporters laughed it off, letting the star quarterback go back to his much-needed space.
It’s hard to blame him for the fatigue. Mahomes tore his ACL and LCL in his left knee during a Week 15 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers back in December, a 16-13 defeat that eliminated the Chiefs from the playoffs for the first time in 11 seasons. Since then, virtually every public appearance he’s made has circled back to the same subject: how the knee feels, when he’ll be cleared, whether he’ll be ready for Week 1.
The urgency around this topic is somewhat justified, considering how important Mahomes is to the Chiefs’ entire campaign. The odds of success crash without him in the picture.
Following surgery to repair the injury, he has been working relentlessly to be able to suit up in Week 1. General Manager Brett Veach had lauded the quarterback’s resilience, saying he even used to take a trainer from the facility with him in case he had to travel outside the city. He began practicing his throwing skills only 100 days after the surgery.
Mahomes spent a lot of time in the Chiefs building during rehab, watching World Cup games while working to return on the field for the start of training camp.
By early August, head coach Andy Reid revealed Mahomes had rehabbed roughly seven hours a day since the injury.
“He didn’t go anywhere,” Reid said. “He kept playing; he gets his rehab taken care of before and after practice… he’s all in.”
However, the Chiefs have been cautious with his return. Mahomes did not play at full swing in practice initially, but in time, the staff let him be more active in drills. He was still held out of all three preseason games as the Chiefs managed his return, to avoid risking something so crucial to their success.
Earlier in that same Thursday session, Mahomes did offer one more real update on where things stand physically.
“I’ve built up the strength; I’ve built up all the days of rehab so that I can be myself. I’m gonna keep myself out of harm’s way, not try to take big hits, but I’m a competitor; I signed up for this, and I’m gonna go out there and play football. That’s how I’ve always rolled, no matter what it is and that’s how I’ll probably roll the rest of my career.”
He confirmed he’ll continue wearing a brace (as he was in training camp) on the leg into the regular season, the same one he’s had on since training camp. He’s worn the brace before, in his final season with Texas Tech.
Head coach Andy Reid confirmed earlier this week that Mahomes is expected to start Monday night against Denver, barring any last-minute setback.
Monday’s game also gives the Chiefs a chance to move past a rough 2025 season, while Denver enters as the defending AFC West champion. After months of questions about his knee, Mahomes can finally let his play take over the conversation. That nagging urge to get over that 6-11 finish last year is fueling his desire to come back strong.
“I think it’s just the bad taste that we had from last season,” said the quarterback during the Chiefs’ kickoff luncheon, when he was asked about what motivated him this offseason. “It didn’t go the way we wanted to, Coach [Andy] Reid talked about that. But we learned from it and we’ve gotten better.
“I’ve worked to get to this point right here to be ready to go for the season. Just as hungry as I am, just as hungry as everybody on this stage and everybody in this audience. We’re going to go out there with the mindset that we’re going to be a new version of the Chiefs, that goes up there and dominates the same way the old one did.”
Mahomes just wants to get back on the field and prove that the Chiefs are back.