NFL GM Says Patrick Mahomes Isn't 'Carrying' Chiefs Every Week, Questions QB's Status After Injury

One NFL general manager isn't so sure Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes can perform his same one-man show every week immediately in the wake of his torn ACL.

Mahomes was the No. 1 QB in the annual tiered ranking of the position from The Athletic's Mike Sando. The GM in question is the one person who placed the Chiefs signal-caller into Tier 2.

"He's not carrying them every week anymore," they said. "They had the season (2024) when they were historically, you could say, lucky in the one-possession games and then got trounced in the Super Bowl. They were not as impressive in the one-possession games (in 2025). Now, he's coming off an injury. Is he gonna deteriorate physically?"

This is not an unfair concern to raise when the Chiefs themselves seemed to approach the offseason with the goal of alleviating the burden on their franchise cornerstone.

The biggest addition to the offense didn't come to the receiving corps but was instead in the backfield. Kansas City gave Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker III $43.1 million over three years.

Coach Andy Reid is clearly looking to emphasize the running game more after the Chiefs combined to have the eighth-fewest carries in 2025.

Mahomes threw for 3,587 yards and 22 touchdowns in 14 starts last season despite having a lackluster supporting cast around him. A down year for him is pretty good for a lot of other quarterbacks.

One offensive coordinator is confident the ACL injury won't impact his game much moving forward.

"I don't think he is going to look any different than what he was mobility-wise," they said. "He has never been the fastest. He just has unbelievable core strength and quickness and agility and vision and feel to create. I wouldn't expect drop-off there."

Mahomes may not miss a beat once he's back on the field. Still, he and the Chiefs might be best served long term by lowering his workload.