With the 2025-26 NFL regular season coming to a close, every team is in its final week. Fourteen clubs will advance to the postseason for at least a weekend of football.
For the first time in over a decade, that group won’t include the Kansas City Chiefs. Head coach Andy Reid’s team currently sits at 6-10 entering Week 18, and that isn’t even the primary concern for the team.
The real elephant in the room is the health of quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The face of the franchise continues to rehab from ACL and LCL injuries.
Andy Reid Drops Positive Update on Patrick Mahomes’ Progress After ACL Tear
How is Mahomes faring with surgery squarely in the rearview mirror? Reid provided an update when he spoke to the media on Monday afternoon.
Reid confirmed Mahomes is with the team frequently, although he’s mainly focusing on rehab.
“He’s around, so he’s in the building and working and doing his rehab, and spending a lot of hours doing it,” Reid said. “He’s really attacked that and will continue to do that. He’s around and sees the guys, but most of his time is being spent rehabbing.”
In the spirit of that, the top-tier signal-caller won’t fly with the team for its regular-season finale against the Las Vegas Raiders.
“Probably not this soon, no,” Reid said.
This was mostly expected. Given the nature of his knee injuries, it’d be a hassle for Mahomes to make unnecessary travel. That, paired with this being a low-magnitude matchup, adds further validity to the plan. Mahomes, who watched the Chiefs’ Week 17 loss to the Denver Broncos from a suite at Arrowhead Stadium, can continue to work on improving on the health front.
Mahomes still faces a lengthy road ahead. The three-time Super Bowl champ is dealing with a multi-month recovery, which will likely extend into July’s training camp, August’s preseason and perhaps even the early part of the 2026 regular season in September.
Chiefs Projected to Land Premium Pick in 2026 NFL Draft
For Mahomes, he’ll likely have some new faces to work with the next time he takes the field. Following such a disappointing season, Kansas City may experience an offseason of change. On the player personnel front, several pieces are free agents. That, plus the 2026 NFL Draft, opens the door for alterations throughout the roster.
The latter could be a legitimate avenue for improvement. According to Tankathon, the Chiefs enter Week 18 slotted into the ninth overall pick. They haven’t landed a first-round pick that high since Mahomes himself went 10th overall back in 2017. Given their extended run of dominance, general manager Brett Veach is used to end-of-round offerings.
That makes it infinitely more difficult to discover blue-chip prospects. Once April rolls around, regardless of how Sunday’s game in Vegas goes, the Chiefs will have a nice opportunity. Premium picks, even under unfortunate circumstances, can expedite resets and help restock the talent pool. This organization certainly needs it.
The teams the Chiefs are primarily competing with reside in the 8-13 range for picks. They share the same 6-10 record as the New Orleans Saints and Cincinnati Bengals. Coming into Monday Night Football, the 6-9 Atlanta Falcons have their pick belonging to the Los Angeles Rams. Rounding out the group are the 7-9 Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
New Orleans and Atlanta face each other to end the regular season. Cincinnati hosts the lowly, 4-12 Cleveland Browns. Is there incentive for the Chiefs to drop another game? Sure, but the franchise has made it clear that draft picks don’t take away from their competitive drive.
There’s only one chance left to prove it and end the season on a high note.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Chiefs Give Early Update on Patrick Mahomes’ ACL Rehab appeared first on Heavy Sports.