The Kansas City Chiefs have been quite active this offseason, especially in terms of revamping the defense. Steve Spagnuolo will have plenty of new weapons to work with after losing Trent McDuffie and Bryan Cook.
However, the biggest narrative revolving around the team is, unsurprisingly, Patrick Mahomes' health. The star quarterback suffered the first major injury of his career, and while he underwent surgery almost immediately, ACL recoveries are lengthy and tricky.
Nevertheless, with him reportedly aiming for a Week 1 return, the fans now officially know the potential date and opponent of his return. As confirmed by the schedule release, the Chiefs will host the Denver Broncos on September 14 for Monday Night Football.
The Chiefs' schedule hints at Patrick Mahomes' recovery status
Truth be told, it's hard to believe the NFL would even consider giving the Chiefs a primetime game in the season opener unless Mahomes was going to play. They must have an inside scoop on his recovery and feel confident about his chances of being on the field in Week 1.
When asked about his recovery, head coach Andy Reid didn't want to make any firm commitments. He did, however, acknowledge that Mahomes is approaching his rehab aggressively, and he didn't rule out having him on the gridiron for the season opener:
“He’s doing great right now, and that’s kinda how you gotta go about this,” Reid said. “Nobody is spending more time than he is rehabbing, he spends seven hours here going through it. He hasn’t missed a day, and he wants more. Let’s see where we are at as we go forward, as we get a little bit closer to the game.”
At the end of the day, the Chiefs are much more than just a one-man show, and their new-look defense might be just enough to hold down the fort while Mahomes gets back to full strength if he's not ready for the opener.
As much as Mahomes will be eager to suit up, and even though he does seem to be ahead of schedule in those viral workout clips, he still has plenty of football ahead of him. The Chiefs must protect him from himself and make sure he's not back out there unless he's fully healthy.
The Chiefs will have to do plenty of heavy lifting to get back to the mountaintop in a much-improved AFC West, and every game will be crucial. Then again, they also have to look at the big picture, even if that means dropping a couple of games early in the season.
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