Patrick Mahomes Set to Start Week 1 After Torn ACL (Getty Images)
Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL and LCL in his left knee on December 14, 2025, in a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Surgery followed within 24 hours. Kansas City went 6-11 last season without him.
Andy Reid confirmed it Tuesday: “Pretty good chance Patrick will go ahead and start, unless something were to come up here in the next couple days.
“I remember sitting on the table and watching us play those last few games, how much it hurt me,” Mahomes said. The Chiefs missed the playoffs for the first time since Mahomes took over as starter. For most quarterbacks, that sequence ends with a long, uncertain road back. For Mahomes, it became a nine-month project with one fixed destination in mind — Monday Night Football against the Denver Broncos. But, most likely, he’ll be the guy that’s out there. “But I knew that if I continued to work I could be at this spot where I can get cleared for practice. Reid’s assessment was blunt. “You guys have seen him out there, so you know what it looks like, him running around and doing his stuff. Other than having a brace on his leg, everything looks normal. He’s running around the same way he’s always done and throwing the ball like he’s always done. The offense stalled, the playoffs were missed for the first time in the Mahomes era, and the conversation around the Chiefs shifted from dynasty to question mark. That changes Monday night. Mahomes returning to the starting lineup against Denver isn’t just a feel-good moment — it resets every projection about this team.
And his contract, recently extended through 2033 at a total value of $504.75 million, signals exactly where the Chiefs stand on their investment in him.
He also comes in as the consensus pick for best quarterback in the NFL , according to the latest poll of coaches, GMs and executives by Albert Breer. Mahomes is also the clear early frontrunner for Comeback Player of the Year — before he has played a single snap. Nine months removed from a destroyed knee, that is where Mahomes sits.