The Kansas City Chiefs have some major questions heading into the 2026 season, most importantly regarding the health of starting quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes tore his ACL toward the end of last season, and at this point, it's not clear whether he will be able to take the field at the beginning of the upcoming season.
Recently, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was participating in coaches' interviews in Phoenix, and naturally, the subject of Mahomes came up, with one reporter asking whether the star was “ahead of schedule” in terms of his rehab process.
“Who makes the schedule?” wondered Reid bluntly, per Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network on X, formerly Twitter.
Additionally, Reid spoke on the Chiefs' recent trade for quarterback Justin Fields.
“Andy Reid reiterates he believes Justin Fields is more than a gadget guy at QB. When asked if Fields would have a package, Reid didn't dismiss the possibility and said he wanted to talk more with Fields. Joked that Fields was bored, the Chiefs would find him something to do,” reported Jesse Newell of The Athletic on X.
Many saw the Chiefs' trade for Fields as a sign that the team was not necessarily banking on Mahomes to be ready to start the 2026 season. Fields suffered through a brutal 2025 campaign with the New York Jets, which ultimately saw him get benched, but he did do a solid job of holding down the fort for the Pittsburgh Steelers in Russell Wilson's absence the prior year.
Whatever the timeline is, the most important thing for Mahomes is that he's 100 percent and ready to go whenever he steps back on the field, even if it means pushing the recovery process into the 2026 regular season.
