BREAKING: Chiefs Make Major Announcement On Patrick Mahomes’ Status For Week 1

His return lines up right on schedule.

Kansas City’s offseason has revolved around one central question. Nobody knew for certain when their franchise quarterback would take the field again.

Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL and LCL in Week 15 last season, ending his year and the Chiefs’ playoff hopes in the same brutal moment. The injury capped off a losing season that broke a run of division titles dating back over a decade.

Tuesday brought the clarity everyone had been waiting for.

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid told reporters that Mahomes has a “very good chance” of starting Monday night against the Broncos.

ESPN‘s Adam Schefter was not as equivocal, noting Mahomes would return exactly nine months after tearing his ACL and LCL.

As far as our roster goes, there’s a very good chance that Patrick will go ahead and start unless something were to come up here in the next couple days,” Reid said. “Most likely he’ll be the guy that’s out there.”
Mahomes underwent surgery the day after his injury and attacked his rehab from the start. He fully participated in training camp all summer, working exclusively with the first-team offense despite the Chiefs holding him out of every preseason game.

Kansas City’s caution made sense given the stakes involved.

The team stumbled to a 6-11 finish without their star quarterback down the stretch, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2014.

Not everyone feels fully at ease with the timeline. Some analysts have pointed to Mahomes’ teammate’s blocking technique as a potential risk factor heading into Week 1, given ongoing questions at left tackle behind him.

Mahomes also enters the season with something to prove after slipping to No. 18 on the NFL’s Top 100 player rankings, his lowest placement since becoming Kansas City’s full-time starter. A down statistical year, paired with the injury, clearly factored into how his peers voted.

Denver enters the opener as defending AFC West champions, having ended the Chiefs’ nine-year run atop the division last season. Mahomes has reportedly cited that specific storyline as extra motivation throughout his recovery.

Barring any last-minute setback, Kansas City will have its franchise quarterback back under center Monday night. Nine months after his knee gave out, Mahomes appears ready to answer every question that’s followed him since.