Chiefs HC Andy Reid gives big Patrick Mahomes injury update amid rumors

Hours before the full 2026 NFL regular-season schedule was released on Thursday, ESPN's Adam Schefter revealed that Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes has a "realistic chance" of playing in Kansas City's Week 1 "Monday Night Football" home game versus the rival Denver Broncos on Sept. 14. 

Interestingly, it was then learned that the Chiefs will open the campaign with two prime-time games and had been scheduled for a total of six prime-time contests. During a Thursday evening appearance on NFL Network, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was asked how Mahomes is recovering from the torn ACL and torn LCL that the quarterback suffered this past December. 

Is Andy Reid not yet planning to start Patrick Mahomes versus the Broncos? 

"He’s doing great right now, and that’s kinda how you gotta go about this," Reid said about Mahomes, per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. "People go, 'Well, he’s ahead of schedule.' Who made the schedule? Everybody’s different. Let’s just take it day by day. Nobody is spending more time than he is rehabbing. He spends seven hours here going through it. He hasn’t missed a day, and he wants more, all the things that are Patrick Mahomes. Let’s see where we are at as we go forward, as we get a little bit closer to the game."

Reid was seemingly referencing how Chiefs general manager Brett Veach recently said that Mahomes was "way ahead of schedule" in his rehab. It was later reported that Kansas City coaches had been "telling some of their friends around the league that they are hopeful that Mahomes will be fully cleared early in training camp and on track to play a full season." 

Andy Reid shares Patrick Mahomes "reality" after schedule release

"He’s making progress, but you don’t know," Reid added about Mahomes. "That’s the reality of it. You’re not going to put the player in a position where he can’t tend to himself on the football field."

Of course, Reid has no reason to make any big proclamation ahead of Memorial Day regarding how Mahomes may or may not be feeling roughly four months down the road. The Chiefs' schedule indicates the NFL expects Mahomes to play on Sept. 14, but it remains to be seen how his body will respond to his ongoing rehab assignments.