Patrick Mahomes Update: Chiefs QB Posts Video of Him Throwing for First Time Since Injury

The Chiefs quarterback looks like he’s on track to play Week 1.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was seen throwing a football for the first time since he underwent surgery for his season-ending ACL injury. | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

It’s a pretty slow period in the NFL offseason right now, which makes it the perfect time for big-name stars to post videos of their workouts for sports media outlets to write about. Case in point: Patrick Mahomes throwing a football for the first time since he tore his ACL last December.

On Wednesday afternoon, Mahomes shared a short video on his Instagram Stories in which he was seen doing drills in an indoor facility and tossing a football around. He was wearing what looked like a sleeve on his left leg, which was the one he injured in last season’s loss to the Chargers.

“Day by Day!” Mahomes wrote in the caption. “Great being able to throw the ball around today.”

The Chiefs’ social team reshared his video to X (formerly Twitter):

QB1 back in the lab 👀 @PatrickMahomes pic.twitter.com/F9BXzqzyr6

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) March 25, 2026

It’s the latest upbeat social media post from Mahomes, who has been nothing but optimistic since suffering the worst injury of his NFL career thus far. The Chiefs quarterback underwent surgery for his left knee in December to repair two torn ligaments, his ACL and LCL. A month later, Mahomes told reporters he was progressing well in his rehab journey and planning to be ready to take the field by Week 1 of the 2026 season.

“I think, the long-term ... I want to be ready for Week 1, the doctor said that I could be, but I can’t predict what’s going to happen throughout the process. That’s my goal. I’ll try to prepare myself to be ready to play in Week 1, and have no restrictions,” Mahomes said.

Mahomes has seemingly remained plenty involved with the Chiefs early this offseason, as he shared a heartbreaking reaction to seeing ex-Kansas City cornerback Trent McDuffie get traded and also congratulated Travis Kelce on signing his new contract with the team.

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes’s recovery timeline: Will he be ready for Week 1 of 2026 season?

Mahomes, who suffered his season-ending ACL injury on Dec. 14 of last year, has insisted that he was aiming to be ready by Week 1. Just how feasible is that recovery timeline?

Typically, recovery from ACL surgery takes nine months. That number was confirmed by Chiefs vice president of sports medicine and performance Rick Burkholder, calling the nine-month timeline a “ballpark” estimate that could give or take a month.

Given that Mahomes underwent surgery nearly right away to kickstart his rehab process as soon as possible, he could return to action around mid-September, which would be the Week 2 or 3 mark of the 2026 season. If things go better than expected, Mahomes could realistically shave off a week or so and suit up for Week 1; if things take a turn for the worse, the Chiefs may have to rely on newly acquired backup QB Justin Fields for the first few games of the season.

The three-time Super Bowl champ ended last season on one of his worst ever campaigns with 22 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and nine of his picks came in the second half of the year when the Chiefs were still fighting for a playoff spot. After finishing third in the AFC West and missing the postseason for the first time in the Mahomes era, the Chiefs will be looking to reclaim their spot on the league’s throne—and they’ll indubitably need a fully healthy Mahomes to do so.

Stay tuned for more updates on the Chiefs’ star steady recovery this summer.

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