This week, the Kansas City Chiefs wrapped up the offseason program with mandatory minicamp from Tuesday through Thursday. It will be the last we see or hear from the Chiefs formally until training camp opens in St. Joseph, Missouri, sometime in late July.
With that being the case, it’s the last time to get updates from the organization on the injuries being dealt with by some of Kansas City’s most important players, including quarterback Patrick Mahomes. He was on the field throughout OTAs, and head
coach Andy Reid feels all signs are pointing in the right direction at this point.
“I love what he did this offseason,” Reid told reporters in a press conference Thursday morning. “The way he attacked the rehab, and he’s on course to take these next few days and get ready for camp.”
Recovering from surgery on his ACL and LCL, Mahomes donned a yellow jersey that all Chiefs quarterbacks wear during practice, so at times, it was easy to forget he was even wearing a knee brace as part of rehabilitation.
It’s easy for external stakeholders to be confident that the two-time MVP will return ahead of the perceived “schedule”, but Reid wants to see him continue rehabilitating with camp around the corner.
“Keep working his legs, the strength in his legs,” Reid said. “There’s a part that the healing process needs to keep taking place, but he gets periodic checks on that, too. He’s been working close with (athletic trainer) Julie [Frymyer]… he does rehab before practice, comes to practice, then he goes after practice, so he’s staying on top of all that.”
It’s still a day-by-day process, a phrase that Chiefs Kingdom has grown to ignore from Reid, but there’s a lot of optimism in that math of Mahomes improving one day at a time from here to the time Kansas City starts practicing on the fields at Missouri Western.
“It looks like he’ll be able to do some things in camp,” Reid acknowledged. “He did it out here, so I presume, in 40 days, he will be even better than that, so we’ll just see where it goes.”
“You go through peaks and valleys in this thing, on rehabs,” Reid said. “Where you might plateau for a little bit, and then you don’t ever know where those are going to take place, but so far, it’s been a pretty steady climb up the hill there.”
“If he’s not ready… that’s why (backup quarterback) Justin [Fields] is here,” Reid clarified. “But I think we’ll be okay there, as he goes forward.”
Mansoor Delane
The team’s top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft was held out of minicamp practices, staying on the sidelines without a helmet during this week’s work.
According to coach Reid, there is little to be concerned about with the sixth-overall pick from LSU.
“Delane hurt his shoulder,” Reid shared. “So we kept him out of practice for that reason.
“He should be ready for training camp,” Reid assured.
Rashee Rice
As the Chiefs depart from OTAs, the team’s top receiver is still awaiting his release from Dallas County jail. Rashee Rice was sentenced to 30 days in jail on May 19, a week after undergoing clean-up surgery on the knee he had torn the ACL in previously.
On Thursday, Reid shared an update on what rehabilitation he is able to undergo while serving time, including communication with the team’s Head Athletic Trainer, Rick Burkholder.
“Rick has talked to him more than what I have,” Reid revealed. “Just making sure everything is set there, where he can do some rehab with it, and still do the time that he needed to take care of, so he’s on top of it.”
“Thank goodness that they’re allowing him to do it,” Reid said. “So they’ve been great with that.”
Reid was then asked if Rice would be ready to participate in training camp.
“I think he will be,” Reid responded. “He gets out here somewhere this next week, so we’ll see where it goes from there. He’ll be back up here working.”
