Patrick Mahomes is set to start in the Kansas City Chiefs‘ opening game of the season against the Denver Broncos. It will be his first game back roughly nine months after suffering a gruesome injury to his left knee. During the off-season, the quarterback has been working to recover from the injury which prematurely ended his 2025 season after only 14 games. With his return imminent, the perennially controversial Skip Bayless has given his two cents on what the injury might mean for Mahomes upon his return to the league.
On December 14, 2025, Mahomes sustained a rupture of both his ACL and LCL while he was scrambling against the Los Angeles Chargers. He underwent surgery the next day and then started working towards returning for the first week of action. Although the initial recovery timetable allowed for the possibility that he might not be fit until later in the season, Mahomes stuck to his schedule during the entire rehabilitation period. He was eventually permitted to attend training camp and has since taken part in the practices without missing a single day.
Bayless thinks that the injury might cause Mahomes to run less when he comes back. “I can make a case that even though I don’t wish injury on anybody, tearing up his knee was a good thing in the long run for Patrick Mahomes because it’s going to force him to quit running quite as much as he did last year,” Bayless said, as reported by the Times of India.
To understand why that idea makes sense, one has only to look at how Mahomes has played in the most recent seasons. He has always been at ease in creating plays outside the pocket, in extending them and getting away when a defence provides him with an opening. It can be difficult for defences to stop those kinds of plays, but they also put the quarterback at greater risk of contact. Since he suffered a serious knee injury, he might now have to be more careful about when he enters those situations.
The Chiefs appear confident that he is ready to return. Head coach Andy Reid said Mahomes had not missed a day of practice and looked normal in his movement, with the knee brace being the most obvious difference. “Other than having a brace on his leg, everything looks normal,” Reid said. “He’s running around the same way he’s always done and throwing the ball like he’s always done.”
Mahomes was also listed as a full participant on Kansas City’s Week 1 injury report. The Chiefs deliberately kept him out of all three preseason games, but there has been little indication that the team views that as a concern.
His first test will be a demanding one. Denver’s defense recorded 68 sacks last season, the most in the NFL, while the Chiefs will enter the game without starting left tackle Josh Simmons and safety Chamarri Conner. Kansas City is asking Mahomes to return against the same division rival that won the AFC West last season.
That makes his movement especially interesting to watch. Mahomes does not need to become a completely different quarterback, and there is no reason to expect him to abandon the improvisational style that has made him so effective. He may simply have to decide more carefully which plays are worth the extra risk.
All in all, the opener should provide the first meaningful indication of how Mahomes feels when the pace increases and defenders are trying to bring him down. His arm strength and passing ability should remain familiar. Whether he trusts the knee enough to make the same instinctive decisions outside the pocket will be something to watch from the opening snap.
Patrick Mahomes Knee Injury Was a Good Thing Says Controversial Presenter