The Kansas City Chiefs are hoping to have Patrick Mahomes back on the field for the start of the coming season, but the complicated nature of his leg injury leaves his exact return date up in the air.
If the Chiefs don’t have Mahomes back in time, they could have a very seasoned replacement on deck. The Chiefs have only practice-squad quarterback Chris Oladokun on the roster for the coming season, and would likely need to make an addition in free agency if Mahomes can’t start the season.
The answer could come from an AFC rival ready to make a big change.
Chiefs Named Top Landing Spot for Tua Tagovailoa
The Miami Dolphins are expected to move on from starter Tua Tagovailoa, with ESPN’s Dan Graziano reporting that they plan to make him a post-June 1 cut designation.
“The Dolphins continue to tell people that they’ve had trade talks with teams and haven’t given up on trying to trade Tagovailoa, even though that would mean picking up a significant portion of his $54 million in fully guaranteed 2026 salary,” Graziano wrote. “But based on my conversations with other teams, I’m skeptical, and I expect Miami to release Tagovailoa by the third day of the league year (when $3 million of his 2027 salary would become fully guaranteed).”
Some analysts see this as a big opportunity for the Chiefs if they need a steady starter until Mahomes completes his rehab. Mike Masala of USA Today’s Dolphins Wire noted that Tagovailoa might find his best chance to play in Kansas City.
“Unless there’s a team looking to give him a starting job this offseason, there probably won’t be a better opportunity for a backup quarterback in 2026,” Masala reported.
Tagovailoa could be the best option for the Chiefs, bringing his 68.0% career passing average and 18,166 total yards, with 120 touchdowns and 59 interceptions.
Chiefs Face Shaky Projection on Patrick Mahomes
Though Mahomes has expressed optimism that he would be able to complete his rehab in time to start the season, the complicated nature of his torn ACL and LCL leaves that in question.
ESPN analyst Seth Walder projected that the Chiefs would not have Mahomes to start the season.
“Of course, this hinges on the recovery timeline of Patrick Mahomes, who had surgery in December to repair two ligaments in his left knee,” Walder wrote. “Mahomes has indicated he wants to be back for Week 1, and perhaps that will happen. But any prediction about his Week 1 status is just a guess, so I imagine that the Chiefs would want to be cautious with Mahomes, given his importance to the franchise.”
Walder had another quarterback in mind for the Chiefs — journeyman veteran Marcus Mariota. He has plenty of starting experience and would remain a reliable backup once Mahomes returns, should he not start the season.
The Chiefs could also choose to bring back veteran Gardner Minshew, who was the No. 2 behind Mahomes during this season and briefly took over as starter before his own season-ending injury forced the team to turn to Oladokun.
