Chiefs' Xavier Worthy may have revealed Patrick Mahomes' Week 1 status

Neither Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes nor head coach Andy Reid has yet confirmed that Mahomes will definitely start the Chiefs' Week 1 "Monday Night Football" home game versus the rival Denver Broncos on Sept. 14. 

That said, Mahomes' remarkable recovery from the torn ACL and torn LCL he suffered on Dec. 14, 2025, has seemingly had him on track to go up against the Broncos since the start of training camp. While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy may have spoiled some news regarding Mahomes' status for the regular-season opener. 

No "potentially" with Patrick Mahomes' Week 1 availability

Per Nick Sloan of KMBC News, Worthy was asked about Mahomes potentially being cleared to play against Denver. 

"He’s back," Worthy said about Mahomes. "It's not potentially back." 

Worthy's update is hardly surprising, as Mahomes was fully cleared for the start of training camp and seemingly avoided any sort of setback that would keep him from playing in Week 1. As Dave Skretta of the Associated Press noted, there was once a point when it was thought that Mahomes might not play in a competitive game until October at the earliest. Worthy isn't surprised that Mahomes is on a different timeline. 

"His will and want-to is beyond anything I’ve ever seen," Worthy said about Mahomes' recovery. "He kind of leads the team in that way. You have your leader leading like that and guys fall behind. He’s just a 'will' guy, always willing to work." 

Are the Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes worried about rust? 

For the first time since the NFL scrapped the preseason in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mahomes did not participate in any exhibition games this summer. Worthy reminded everybody that Mahomes nevertheless got plenty of work in with his teammates through August. 

"Me and Pat, we’ve kind of been working this offseason, the timing and stuff you need to work on," Worthy explained. "I feel like when it’s time to play, we’ll all be ready." 

Mahomes and Co. will practice Thursday, enjoy the Labor Day holiday weekend and then begin preparing for the Denver game. It feels like it's a matter of when and not if Reid will confirm next week that he'll have Mahomes in the lineup on the night of Sept. 14. 

"He's going to keep practicing just like he's been doing," Reid said about Mahomes. "These are more like practice here, a lot of one-versus-one play these next couple of days. That's a good thing."