KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes is expected to start for the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night against the Denver Broncos, nine months to the day after he tore the ACL and LCL in his left knee.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Tuesday that Mahomes has shown the staff everything it needed to see and has not missed a day of practice.
“Pretty good chance that Patrick will go ahead and start unless something were to come up here in the next couple days, but most likely he’ll be the guy that’s out there,” Reid said.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote this week that Mahomes is well positioned to win Comeback Player of the Year. Fowler wrote that Mahomes hears the doubt about his place in the quarterback pantheon for the first time in his career, and that he expects Mahomes to respond with a big season.
Dan Graziano wrote that it was clear early in camp that Mahomes had attacked his rehab. Graziano has the Chiefs reclaiming the AFC West title.
Josh Simmons’ Status And The Kansas City Chiefs Offense
Fowler and Graziano both wrote that an injury to left tackle Josh Simmons gives them pause. Undrafted rookie Kahlil Benson is in line to start in Simmons’ place, Reid said Tuesday.
“There’s a good chance Josh doesn’t play this week,” Reid explained. “That’s where we’re at. … We have that in our mind, and he has an issue there that he’s working through. I’m not putting any time restraint on when he can come back.”
Kansas City replaced offensive coordinator Matt Nagy with Eric Bieniemy, who held the job during an earlier stint with the Chiefs, and changed several other offensive assistants, Graziano wrote.
The Chiefs signed running back Kenneth Walker III in free agency. Graziano also named a fully healthy Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice as keys to a more explosive offense. Fowler pointed to rookies Emmett Johnson and Cyrus Allen.
Worthy caught 42 passes for 532 yards and 1 touchdown in 14 games last season. Rice caught 53 passes for 571 yards and 5 touchdowns in 8 games.
Patrick Mahomes’ 2025 Season And Injury
Mahomes was hurt Dec. 14 in the final minutes of a 16-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers at Arrowhead Stadium. He had surgery the next day.
Before the injury, he threw for 3,587 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions in 14 starts. He ran for 422 yards and 5 touchdowns. Kansas City went 6-11 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
Mahomes has practiced every day since training camp opened but did not play in the preseason.
Denver went 14-3 last season and ended Kansas City’s run of nine straight AFC West titles. The Broncos lost 10-7 to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. They have won four of the last five meetings with the Chiefs.
Kickoff at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium is 7:15 p.m. CT Monday on ABC and ESPN.
