Patrick Mahomes Gives Week 1 Injury Status Update Amid Knee Rehab as Chiefs Prepare for Broncos

There will likely be a familiar face under center for the Kansas City Chiefs when they open their 2026 campaign on Sept. 14 against the Denver Broncos.

Patrick Mahomes told reporters Tuesday he feels like he is on track to start in Week 1 as he continues his recovery from the torn ACL and LCL that ended his 2025 season.

"Being able to go out there, day after day, and have the grind of a camp, that can even be harder than the [regular] season," Mahomes said. "It's been awesome for me to be able to do that. It's exciting. I didn't know if I was going to have to take days off, but my body has responded the right way.

"Honestly, the more we practice, the better I feel."

While he has not played in a preseason game and is not expected to in Friday's matchup against the Seattle Seahawks, Mahomes has not missed practice since he was cleared to participate in football activities in July.

And, in his eyes, the timeline is matching up exactly as he expected.

"It's nine months," Mahomes said of the Week 1 start date. "It's the amount of time [doctors] said from the beginning, that if I did everything the right way, I would be ready to play Week 1. I'm someone that, if you put [a goal] out in front of me, I want to go out and get it and maximize every single opportunity, every rep in the weight room, every hour that I can spend in the building to get my body right.

"This has always been the plan. From the day I got the surgery, as quick as I did, to hopefully the first game of the year, the plan will go accordingly, and I'll be able to go out there and be myself."

This will be the first time in Mahomes' career that he doesn't play in a single preseason game, but the Chiefs know what they are getting in their star quarterback if he is healthy and available.

His resume includes three Super Bowl titles, three Super Bowl MVPs, two league MVPs, six Pro Bowl selections and six seasons with more than 4,000 passing yards. He led the league in both passing yards (5,250) and passing touchdowns (41) in 2022 and is already considered one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history.

It seems like he will have the opportunity to add to that resume this season given his progress from last year's injury.