Patrick Mahomes is not playing because he tore the ACL in his left knee (and also damaged the LCL) in a recent game, and he has already undergone surgery that ended his 2025 season.

What happened?

  • Mahomes injured his left knee late in the Chiefsā€™ Week 15 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers when his leg bent awkwardly during a play.
  • Postgame evaluations, including an MRI, confirmed a torn ACL in that knee, and later reports noted additional LCL damage.

Current status

  • The Chiefs announced that Mahomes had seasonā€‘ending surgery in Dallas to repair the torn ACL (and LCL) and that he has already begun his rehab process.
  • Because this is a major knee ligament injury, the team has ruled him out for the rest of the 2025 season, with focus now on recovery rather than any return this year.

Who is playing instead?

  • With Mahomes sidelined, backup quarterback Gardner Minshew has been named the starter for the remaining Chiefs games this season.
  • The organization is expected to evaluate quarterback depth and options going into 2026 while Mahomes continues his rehab.

Recovery outlook

  • Typical ACL recovery timelines for quarterbacks range around 9ā€“12 months, and reports suggest the Chiefs are unsure if Mahomes will be fully ready for the very start of the 2026 season.
  • Mahomes has publicly said he plans to ā€œattack every single dayā€ of rehab and come back ā€œstronger than ever,ā€ signaling confidence in a full return once medically cleared.

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