PatrickMahomes

News: 3 days agoMahomes has begun rehab following surgery to repair the torn ACL and LCL in his left knee, and the Chiefs are optimistic that the star quarterback could be back as soon as Week 1 of the 2026 regular season, ESPN.com reports.

Spin: Head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder told reporters Wednesday that Mahomes' operation with Dr. Dan Cooper was successful, per Jesse Newell of The Athletic. The recovery process for injuries similar to Mahomes' typically takes around nine months. The 2026 regular season is expected to kick off Sept. 10, so Mahomes has a realistic chance of being back early in the season, and possibly as soon as Week 1, if all goes to plan with his recovery. Gardner Minshew is Kansas City's starting quarterback for the remainder of the 2025 season following Mahomes' injury in Week 15.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Mahomes enters his age-29 season no longer an elite fantasy option, but rather a solid mid-to-back-end starter. After five straight seasons as a top-6 fantasy QB (PPG), he's finished 13th and 11th the past two seasons. Mahomes has evolved into a quarterback who still attempts a ton of passes (exactly third in pass attempts four years in a row), but is more conservative (career-low 6.4 aDOT and 6.8 YPA in 2024) and doesn't throw as many TDs as in years past (26 last season was his fewest since 2019). Perhaps he'll rebound a bit in that area with the Xavier Worthy/Rashee Rice/Hollywood Brown trio together, but in the meantime Mahomes adds just enough with his legs (between 300 and 400 yards five seasons in a row) to keep him in the fantasy starter conversation.