Patrick Mahomes (Image via Getty Images)
Mahomes Optimistic About Week 1 Return Against Broncos
Patrick Mahomes is expressing confidence about playing in Week 1 despite not yet being officially cleared by the Kansas City Chiefs. The franchise quarterback is already preparing for the season opener against the Denver Broncos on September 15. With less than three weeks until the game, Mahomes referred to the Broncos as ‘one of the best defenses in the league,’ indicating he is focused on the matchup rather than his recovery timeline. His comments suggest he is determined to be ready for the challenge ahead.
On August 25, he told reporters that facing the Broncos requires a different level of readiness than a preseason game. But at the end of the day, when we’re going into that Week 1, if I’m able to kind of get through this process and be able to play, we’ll be going up against one of the best defenses in the league. Travis Kelce reinforced the optimism around Mahomes on August 12.
“I mean, obviously, I always say that because it kinda locks you in,” Patrick Mahomes said. “He’s doing great,” Reid said, per the New York Post. “I wanted to come here because of the culture, because of Pat and to learn from him and Coach Reid,” Fields said in April, per ESPN’s Nate Taylor. “He’s playing his tail off right now, and he’s leading us,” Kelce said, per A to Z’s Charles Goldman.
Patrick Mahomes suffered a torn ACL in December and the Chiefs moved quickly in March, trading for Justin Fields as a backup option. But Mahomes’ language heading into the final stretch of the preseason tells a more confident story than any official team statement has. “When you get that first hit, it almost kind of locks you into, all right, we’re playing football again, everything like that. But I feel like the last few preseason games, we’ve been so good blocking and throughout these drives that I haven’t taken that hit. And so, it’ll be kind of that same type of experience. And so, I’ll have to be ready to go no matter what it is. Head coach Andy Reid, true to form, kept his cards close. “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. “Just the winning, to be honest. We of course knew of each other, but we really didn’t communicate before coming here. I’m excited to learn from him. I’m already kind of picking his brain a little bit and just observing how he goes about things in the meeting rooms, field and stuff like that.