Patrick Mahomes says he feels “great” and remains hopeful to play in Week 1 after ACL recovery

Patrick Mahomes said he feels “great” and that he is still hoping to be able to play in Week 1 as he works through recovery from an ACL injury that sidelined him late in the 2025 season. The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback’s comments reflect the most optimistic view of his timeline yet, even though ACL recoveries are typically measured in months rather than weeks.

The injury Mahomes suffered last December appeared, at the time, likely to cost him early games of the following season. ACL tears can lead to uncertainty not just about when a player returns, but also about how quickly timing, planting, and decision-making settle back into normal game speed. In that context, the Yahoo Sports report framed Mahomes’ current progress as unusually encouraging.

ACL recoveries can be successful at a range of speeds depending on how the individual athlete responds to rehab, the precision of the surgical repair, and the conditioning work done between milestones. Still, the report emphasized that a quick return of this kind is rare, which is why Mahomes’ hope to play by Week 1 stands out within the broader NFL injury landscape.

For the Chiefs, a Week 1 return would carry obvious quarterback continuity value. Even when a backup can manage a starting workload, the timing between a quarterback and skill-position players, the cohesion of the playbook, and the comfort level in high-leverage moments all tend to benefit from the starter being fully integrated from the start of the regular-season rhythm.

Mahomes’ update does not guarantee availability. Teams often manage practice volume and snap counts carefully after major knee injuries, and the final determination typically comes after medical evaluations and on-field readiness checks, not just how a player feels in an interview. Even if a quarterback says he is targeting the season opener, the Week 1 question usually remains conditional until practices provide clear evidence.

What to watch next is whether the Chiefs’ training plan supports a ramp that matches a Week 1 target, including participation level in team activities and any limitations that shape how much he can take meaningful reps. If Mahomes continues to trend toward full participation, the Week 1 storyline will shift from hope to expectation.

If he does not move cleanly into a full workload, Kansas City would likely revert to its contingency plans for early-season starts. Either way, the next few weeks of practice availability will determine whether Mahomes’ optimistic message becomes a timeline the Chiefs can treat as realistic.

For now, the takeaway is straightforward: Mahomes is portraying his recovery as going well, and he is still working toward playing early in the season. That combination gives the Chiefs their best-case picture at the position, even as the nature of ACL recovery means the final status should remain watchful until the relevant checkpoints arrive.