Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is back on the field and on track to start for the team in Week 1, but the team is showing off some changes aimed at lightening the load on their franchise star.
Mahomes was cleared for full activity just before the start of the team’s training camp on Saturday, the final step in his recovery from a torn ACL that cut short his 2025 season. Mahomes has participated in 11-on-11 drills for the first time, but the team showed off a notable change for him.
Patrick Mahomes Lines Up in New Spot
As New York Post reporter Spencer Brod noted, the Chiefs have lined up Mahomes under center often at training camp, a departure from the shotgun formation they had more regularly utilized.
“While the Chiefs have usually been a shotgun-heavy offense — meaning Mahomes would stand five to seven yards behind the center and receive the snap — they’ve experimented with a new formation early in camp,” Brod wrote. “In contrast to standing several yards back, Mahomes has been standing directly behind the center in an under-center formation as he comes back from tearing his ACL in Week 15 last season.”
Brod suggested that the change could hint at a more run-heavy balance this season, especially after the Chiefs signed Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III.
Brod noted that Chiefs general manager Brett Veach had already hinted at the run-pass shift in February, after the team’s dismal 2025 came to an end with the first non-playoff season in more than a decade.
“Certainly, we want to get more explosive in the running game. We’ve invested in that interior,” Veach said, via The Athletic. “With (right guard) Trey Smith and (center) Creed Humphrey — two of the best in the league — and we thought (left guard) Kingsley (Suamataia) made a big step.”
Patrick Mahomes Still Adjusting
The Athletic reporter Jesse Newell noted that Mahomes is still adjusting to his return from a torn ACL — and still getting used to his knee brace. Mahomes hasn’t worn one since his college days at Texas Tech, and Newell noted that it seems uncomfortable for Mahomes.
“This much became clear in two practices, though: He still will need time to get used to this particular support around his left knee,” Newell wrote. “While recording videos of Mahomes, I was struck by how many times he reached over to adjust the bulky brace. Sometimes, it would be a quick adjustment. Other times, he’d mess with multiple straps, pulling and tugging until he got them into a better position.”
Videos from training camp also appeared to show Mahomes having difficulty planting his surgically repaired leg at times, with the quarterback still adjusting to the brace.
Newell noted that Mahomes will likely still have some physical limitations when he leads the team in Week 1, he remains on track to play and has made progress. The team has not yet revealed the plan for Mahomes as preseason games near, but ESPN reporter Nate Taylor predicted the team would hold him out of all action until the season starts.
Chiefs Reveal Notable Patrick Mahomes Change at Training Camp