Patrick Mahomes is expected to miss the rest of the 2025 season and then face a typical ACL/LCL recovery window of about 9–12 months, putting his full return sometime during the 2026 season if rehab goes as planned.

Quick Scoop

What happened to Mahomes?

  • Patrick Mahomes tore the ACL (and reportedly the LCL) in his left knee late in a Week 15 loss to the Chargers, which immediately ended his 2025 season.
  • He underwent surgery shortly after the injury and is currently in intensive rehab, often seen using crutches and a knee brace in early 2026 updates.

Realistic timeline: how long will he be out?

  • Standard timelines for ACL (and especially ACL + LCL) reconstruction for NFL quarterbacks are roughly 9–12 months before a true full-go return, depending on swelling, strength, and stability benchmarks.
  • With the injury occurring in mid-December 2025, that kind of rehab schedule points to Mahomes missing the rest of 2025 and then targeting some point in the 2026 season for a full return, with early-season availability still uncertain and likely handled cautiously by the Chiefs.

What coaches and Mahomes are saying

  • Andy Reid and the Chiefs have emphasized patience and long-term health, avoiding any firm timetable and focusing publicly on rehab “attacking” the process rather than promising a specific return date.
  • Mahomes has posted that he will “be back stronger than ever,” leaning into a mindset of daily work and faith, but without giving any concrete week or game he expects to return.

What this means for 2026

  • Early 2026 updates show Mahomes still on crutches and in a brace, suggesting he is in the early-to-middle phases of rehab rather than close to game-ready, which supports the idea that his situation is a long play, not a quick few-week absence.
  • Expect the Chiefs to build their offseason plan around him rehabbing for most of the calendar year, using a backup in spring and possibly early 2026 action, then phasing him back once medical staff clear him beyond just practice reps.

TL;DR: The best current reading of the injury news is that Patrick Mahomes is out for all of 2025 and is on a roughly 9–12 month ACL/LCL recovery path, making a full return sometime during the 2026 season the realistic goal rather than a short absence.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.