When the Kansas City Chiefs announced that star quarterback Patrick Mahomes had ACL surgery on Monday—just one day after suffering the devastating knee injury against the Los Angeles Chargers—many presumed it was a good sign that Mahomes would be ready to play by the 2026 season opener.
And according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Mahomes is determined not to miss any time next season.
However, popular sports doctor David Chao, who spent 17 years as a head team doctor in the NFL and serves as an injury expert for Sirius XM Radio and Fox Sports Radio, isn’t buying it, especially after finding out Mahomes tore his LCL in addition to his ACL.
During a video breakdown of Mahomes’ situation on Tuesday, Chao guaranteed the two-time MVP wouldn’t be fully healthy by Week 1 while casting doubt on Mahomes even playing at his usual Pro Bowl level until the following year.
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“An LCL injury for Patrick Mahomes means the Chiefs season will be significantly impacted in 2026,” Chao stated. “There is no way for him to be 100% healthy for the start of next season.
“The comp here is Carson Wentz in 2017… he underwent surgery a couple days after his December injury when he was with the Eagles. … Wentz even said it was an 18-24 month recovery. He did not start the season for the Eagles the following year.
“This is a higher bar than a simple ACL reconstruction. Can [Mahomes] play from the pocket? Sure. But it might be 2027 before he’s fully mobile and Patrick Mahomes-like before.”
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Conversely, former Washington Commanders QB Robert Griffin III, who suffered a similar injury during his NFL career which many believe is the reason it was cut short, even petitioned Mahomes to sit out next season so he doesn’t rush back too quickly and possible damage his career.
“I believe Mahomes should sit out the entire next season because of when his injury happened,” Griffin III said. “It happened in December, which means when September comes around next year, that’ll be nine months since he probably had surgery to repair his ACL. Most ACL injuries take 9-12 months to heal, but anyone will tell you it’s usually 12-15 until you actually feel like yourself and normal again.”
Based on the consensus of most reports, Mahomes will try to play as quickly as he can next season. But it shouldn’t be a surprise if he does miss significant time at the beginning of the year.
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