On Wednesday, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes took the NFL news cycle by storm after sharing a video via social media of himself on the field and throwing. The league’s biggest star has largely been out of the public eye since tearing multiple knee ligaments late in the 2025 season.
Later on Wednesday, Ian Rapoport discussed the clip on NFL Network’s “The Insiders.” Rapoport reiterated that while the news is encouraging, the team remains far from certain when Mahomes will actually return
to action. He also confirmed earlier reports that Mahomes has been in the facility for up to seven hours daily to complete his rehab.
“This is good news,” said Rapoport. “That said, there is still some uncertainty. There’s a lot of uncertainty because he is just three months out from a nine-to-twelve-month recovery. It is not just an ACL tear. It is also an LCL tear. It included surgery right away just to accelerate the rehab. It also is the kind of thing that can take a little bit longer. The knee can be a little stiff.”
Rapoport compared Mahomes’ injury to that of one of his former backups. Carson Wentz — now with the Minnesota Vikings — also tore his ACL and LCL late in the 2017 season while with the Philadelphia Eagles. Ultimately, Wentz missed the first two games in 2018 before retaking the field.
This possibility affected the Chiefs’ decision to trade for quarterback Justin Fields earlier this month.
“If Patrick Mahomes is not ready in September,” declared Rapoport, “he is just not going to be on the field. This is a conservative and very good medical staff. That is why they traded for Justin Fields — who has plenty of starter experience — even if it’s just for the first couple of games of the season.”
