It’s been four-and-a-half months since Kansas City Chiefs
quarterback Patrick Mahomes
crumpled in the final minutes of that brutal 16-13 loss, tearing his ACL and LCL. While the recovery could have stretched to a full year, Mahomes’ rehab has left everyone impressed. So when head coach Andy Reid was asked if his quarterback would be ready for the OTAs in late May, the coach answered what everyone was waiting to hear.
“Yeah, we’ve got to see on that,” Reid said. “He is in a good position to be able to do some things. There’s some rules and regulations to go over that, so we gotta just make sure that we’re on top of that. But if he can do some things – Phase two, remember, there’s no contact, there’s no offense versus defense. So it’s Phase three that you get into that. Once you start the clock, then the clock’s gonna be rolling, so you just have to evaluate what you want to do then. He’s in a position where he can do everything, I think.”
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The progress lines up with what NFL insider Jay Glazer reported back in March, noting that Mahomes could be back in action before the start of the season, which was the originally projected return timeline. Even with that optimism, Coach Reid clarified that he intends to be careful about his star quarterback’s workload and could even place Mahomes on the PUP list at the start of camp.
Meanwhile, general manager Brett Veach has also shared another update. On the Pat McAfee Show, he outlined how Mahomes treats his rehab like game day.
“He is in this building [from] seven to three – four o’clock every single day,” Veach revealed. “If he goes back to Texas for a few days, he takes one of our assistant trainers with him and flies her to Texas with him. Obviously, because of that hard work, I think he’s pretty far ahead of schedule. And again, I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, but just such a motivating presence, and such an example to the building on how to approach every day like a true professional. And I’m excited for him to get back out there.”
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But Veach, just like Big Red, is also worried about protecting the team’s biggest asset. And Mahomes’ tendency to “attack” rehab
causes a unique problem.
“I think our biggest challenge is we have to do a good job of protecting him against himself, Veach said. “We have 110 rookies out here getting ready to try out this weekend. And if we told Pat he can go out there and throw to them, he would.”
This is not unfamiliar territory, though. In October 2019, Mahomes had dislocated his right kneecap on a quarterback sneak against the Denver Broncos
. In less than a week, he was practicing again. He was projected to miss three weeks, but he beat that timeline by one week and returned to lead the team to its first Super Bowl win in 50 years. That grit was the very beginning of the Chiefs’ dynasty. Even McAfee noted that this season might be different for Mahomes once he returns.
“I can’t wait to see a pissed-off, overlooked Patrick Mahomes
back on a football field,” McAfee declared.
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For now, Andy Reid sees Mahomes throwing and getting ready. Brett Veach sees the fire with which Mahomes is showing up every day. As if inspired by that drive, the Chiefs have also decided to upgrade their game plan to keep Mahomes upright for as long as possible when the 2026 season begins. And that begins with the run game.
Chiefs reload to protect Patrick Mahomes’ return
The biggest addition for the Chiefs this offseason didn’t come through the draft, although that class has its own merits. Instead, the biggest game changer arrived in the form of Kenneth Walker III
, the former Seattle Seahawks
running back, Super Bowl LX MVP, and the tank that ran for 313 yards and 4 touchdowns in the postseason alone. Brett Veach laid out the expectations from Walker and the rest of the squad quite plainly:
“We added Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker, and we feel real good about our offensive line,” Veach said. “We’ve gotta get back to establishing our run game.”
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A committed run game was missing throughout last season for the Chiefs, and Mahomes himself had to find routes to rush for 422 yards and 5 touchdowns. A revamped run anchored by Walker
will reduce the number of third-and-long situations that have put Mahomes in tight spots over the years. What’s more, the O-Line also matches this new direction.
Josh Simmons
is projected to anchor the left tackle, with Kingsley Suamataia
on the left guard. Creed Humphrey
returns at the center, and Try Smith locks in the right guard. As for the right tackle, that job most likely falls to Jaylon Moore
. And then there’s the new draft additions.
The Chiefs had lost their two best cornerbacks – Jaylen Watson
and Trent McDuffie
– to the Los Angeles Rams
. But to fill this gap, they brought in LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane with the 6th overall pick
in the 2026 NFL draft, followed by Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods at 29th overall. When asked if a better defense is their focus for 2026, Veach pointed to these two additions.
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“I think certainly on the defensive side of things, just the ability to get off the field on third downs. I think we did some really good things defensively, but the one area we struggled at was that third down,” Veach admitted on the Pat McAfee Show. “And that’s why adding a player like Mansoor Delane, then we added Peter Woods, we want to create a little bit more pressure up front.”
If there is anything left to be desired from the Chiefs’ rebuild, Veach has left the door of free agency wide open.
“There’s certainly still the possibility of (adding some free agents),” Veach said. “I’ve spoken to some agents already. If something makes sense for us and all the players, we’re all for it.”
The easiest read now is that this team is done waiting. Delane can jam receivers, and Walker can eat yards on the other side of the ball. It’s all a deliberate move to hand Patrick Mahomes clean looks while he gets back to creating magic. As for Mahomes, he’s ahead of schedule, with no signs of slowing down. Now the Chiefs just need to protect him and prove that last season was nothing more than a blip – a tiny setback before the dynasty rises again.
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