Patrick Mahomes is still hoping to play for the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1 against the Denver Broncos, but his head coach isn’t ready to name him the starter.
“He’s doing great,” Andy Reid told reporters at Chiefs training camp on Tuesday, August 25. “We’ll just see. I’m literally taking it day by day. There are no predictions here on anything. But if the doctors and the trainers and everybody that are involved with this give him an OK — and then most of all, if he feels like he can, then we’ll address that when we get there.”
Reid, 68, added, “But other than that, these other guys are playing quarterback and doing a nice job with it.”
Mahomes, 30, suffered a torn ACL during a game against the Los Angeles Chargers in December 2025, forcing him to miss the final three games of the Chiefs’ disappointing campaign.
With opening night less than three weeks away, the veteran signal caller seems confident he will be ready to go on September 14.
“This has always been the plan: be ready for training camp, get all the reps in training camp, prepare your body that way,” Mahomes told reporters on Tuesday. “So that when we get to Week 1, you’re ready to play the game and you’ve had the right amount of time off.”
Mahomes was fully cleared for practice before training camp started. Now, the only difference between this year and an injury-free August for the quarterback is the early mornings he spends at the Chiefs’ facility doing rehab work.
“As long as I can continue to go out there and feel good and trust my body and be able to go out there and be myself, I think I’m gonna be good to go,” Mahomes said.
He continued, “I’m someone that, if you put something out in front of me, I want to go out and get it. I want to go out and maximize every single opportunity, every rep in the weight room, every hour that I can spend in the building to get my body right.”
Mahomes said he has tried to avoid making hard cuts on his knee during practice but he can’t always help himself.
“I haven’t had any hesitancy throughout the plays. It’s the coaches talking to me after and telling me, ‘We’re just practicing. It’s not a real live game,’’ he said. “Other than that, we’ve been good.”
Mahomes is not expected to play in Kansas City’s final preseason game on Friday, August 28, against the Seattle Seahawks. The Chiefs and Broncos will officially begin their 2026-27 seasons next month with their primetime matchup on Monday Night Football.
