Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid said the team is likely to hold quarterback Patrick Mahomes out of all three preseason games as he works back from a torn ACL and LCL in his left knee.
The Chiefs’ first preseason game is set for Saturday, Aug. 15, against the Los Angeles Rams. Reid was asked Friday about Mahomes potentially playing in that game.
“There’s a pretty good chance I don’t play him. Percentages are leading that way,” Reid said. “And I don’t know if I’ll play him the second or third game. I don’t know that. But percentages probably lean against doing that, and letting the other guys. … We’ve got new people in those other positions behind him that need some work. The more reps they get, the better.”
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Chiefs backup QB Justin Fields, who was acquired in a trade, and Garrett Nussmeier, a seventh-round pick, are both in their first season with the Chiefs.
Mahomes has looked mostly like himself during early training camp drills roughly eight months removed from surgery in December to repair his left knee.
Chiefs acting offensive coordinator Joe Bleymaier said earlier this week that if Mahomes was having any issues with his knee, they were “nonexistent” to his eye. And though Bleymaier hesitates to say that anything surprises him with Mahomes, he also says the QB’s performance so far in camp has been impressive.
“I haven’t seen anything with the knee out there on the field,” Bleymaier said, “that would lend itself to show any sort of hangover, any sort of setbacks from the season.”
Mahomes was fully cleared to practice before training camp began, and he hasn’t taken it easy on himself since. He’s rolled left and right during drills, taken snaps under center and even has occasionally taken off on scrambles while wearing a bulky brace around his left knee.
Historically, the Chiefs haven’t hesitated to play Mahomes in the preseason, even as other teams have trended away from playing their starting quarterbacks. Mahomes has said in the past he likes to get hit once by a defender in a game setting during the preseason to get that feeling again before the regular season in September.
When speaking on July 24 — his last meeting with reporters — Mahomes said he didn’t share a strong preference for whether he wanted to play preseason games this year.
“I think we’ll just see when we get there,” Mahomes said. “I’m a competitor, so game day, I’m going to want to be out there. But I understand the process of getting myself ready to play in the regular season is more important. But we will see. The coaches and docs will make that decision for me, but I’ll prepare myself like I’m going to play.”