Chiefs’ Reid Provides Mahomes Update 200-Plus Days From Opener

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The first Sunday of the NFL regular season is 205 days away – not that anyone’s counting.

Andy Reid will get at least 204 more updates before then. And in the early stages of Patrick Mahomes’ comeback from season-ending knee surgery, the head coach still has a twinkle in his eye when he describes the quarterback’s progress.

“He's around here all the time,” Reid said from his office Friday. “Spends a ton of time here, seven hours a day, and he's in there cranking away, making progress every day.”

Mahomes sustained the worst injury of his NFL career late in the team’s Week 15 game against the Chargers. And only one day after Dec. 15 surgery to repair torn ACL and LCL ligaments in his left knee, he dove head first into his rehab. Assistant athletic trainer Julie Frymyer is overseeing the process.

Staying on task

“It's great to see he and Julie, the real trainer,” Reid said. “Makes sure that he stays on task and challenges him and everything else.”

Reid enters his 28th year as an NFL head coach in 2026, so he’s seen more than his share of players come back from ACL injuries. So, he knows that Mahomes is already checking off the most important box.

mahomes, rei — Aug 22, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) talks with head coach Andy Reid after a play against the Chicago Bears during the first half of the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

“He keeps showing up. So, that's about half the battle on these things, where you have these injuries, that you show up. And it's not going to be a pleasant thing every day. You got to fight through it. You got to attack the challenge of the workout and rehab. So, he's doing a great job with that.”

Mahomes said last month his goal is to return in time for the Chiefs’ first regular-season game. The NFL will unveil that date along with the rest of the league schedule in May, but Sept. 13 is the first Sunday of the regular season.

While the NFL has the ability to keep the Chiefs out of early season stand-alone windows while Mahomes’ timeline becomes clearer over the next six months, rather than schedule the Chiefs in primetime during Week 1, for example, the Chiefs obviously need a quarterback ready to start if necessary.

Currently, their only quarterbacks under contract are Mahomes, Chris Oladokun and Jake Haener, who signed as a free agent earlier this month. Gardner Minshew, who spent most of the year as Mahomes’ backup until sustaining his own knee injury just three snaps into his first Chiefs start on Dec. 21, is a free agent.

rei — Dec 14, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid stands on the sideline during the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Another Chiefs knee surgery

On a related note, Reid said he wasn’t planning to attend next week’s scouting combine in Indianapolis.

“I couldn't take you guys, anymore,” Reid quipped, asked why he wasn’t scheduled to speak to media next week. “Listen, I had a little knee procedure done, so I'm on IR for about a second here. Not long ago.”

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