Overview
- Patrick Mahomes practiced in a large brace on Thursday and took part in individual drills and 7-on-7 periods but did not join 11-on-11 or full-contact work.
- Chiefs team doctors and surgeon Dr. Dan Cooper have not cleared Mahomes for running, sharp cutting, or full-team drills, so the club is using a cautious, day-to-day approach.
- Coach Andy Reid said the team is protecting Mahomes in practice by keeping him out of areas with higher collision risk, and the organization has limited his reps to preserve long-term health.
- Kansas City has prepared contingency plans if Mahomes is unavailable for Week 1, with Justin Fields being the primary insurance option while other backups remain in the mix.
- Next checkpoints are the mandatory minicamp in early June and training camp in late July, and the recovery will follow staged clinical benchmarks common after combined ACL/LCL repairs.