The Kansas City Chiefs are already without a key starter on their offensive line as Patrick Mahomes prepares to make his long-awaited return from last year’s season-ending knee surgery for Monday’s opener against the reigning division-champion Denver Broncos.
Due to a back issue, second-year left tackle Josh Simmons has been declared out, meaning undrafted-free agent Kahlil Benson is expected to protect Mahomes’ blind side against a Broncos team that led the NFL in sacks last season.
‘Mahomes might be screwed Monday night,’ one nervous fan wrote on X. ‘Legit bad scenario for a first game back from an ACL.’
A definitive timeline for Simmons’ return has not been revealed.
For his part, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid seemed optimistic about Benson, as he explained to reporters this week.
‘He’s done a nice job for us,’ Reid said. ‘He’s obviously shown us that he has the ability to play. We wouldn’t put him in there if we didn’t think that. We’ve all been through that. I think when we first got hired, we thought we probably were pretty good at it, so I want his confidence to be that and go out and play and just use his abilities.’
Mahomes is set to make his return Monday nine months after undergoing knee surgery
Due to a back issue, second-year left tackle Josh Simmons has been declared out this week
Undrafted-free agent Kahlil Benson is expected to protect Mahomes’ blind side on Monday
Mahomes has publicly stated his own support for Benson.
‘I’ve got trust in anyone that the coaches put out there because I know that they’ve worked their tail off to be at that spot,’ Mahomes said. ‘There’ll be mistakes here and there, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to go out there and trust those guys and make the plays whenever the plays need to be made.’
Jaylon Moore, who has experience on the left side, is expected to start at right tackle on Monday.
Benson won a national championship at Indiana, where he primarily played right tackle in 2025 as Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza went on to win the Heisman Trophy.
Monday is obviously a big game for the team and Mahomes, a three-time Super Bowl champion playing in his first game since tearing his ACL and LCL against the Los Angeles Chargers last December.
Although his recovery was originally viewed as a year-long process, Mahomes has managed to return in just nine months, which led long-time teammate Travis Kelce to marvel at his progress during the latest episode of his New Heights podcast.
‘I’ve seen a guy do anything possible to be ready for Week 1,’ Kelce said. ‘What he’s done to get to this point is second to none. You saw that switch flip when he had the surgery, of how he was going to be determined to get healthy for the season.
Mahomes’ teammate Travis Kelce said he’s been impressed with the quarterback’s recovery
‘We’re excited that he’s going to be out there rocking with us on Week 1. In terms of his ability to move around, he’s a competitor, man. And he only knows one way to play the game – when that ball snaps I just expect to see Patty Mahomes playing football.
‘It’s just the competitive edge to him. He understands the game to a certain degree and if one thing doesn’t work, he has the ability to tweak how he’s playing to still get that success.’
The 6-11 Chiefs missed the postseason for the first time in 11 years in 2025 amid a wave of injuries and disappointments. Since then, Kansas City signed Super Bowl MVP and former Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III and drafted LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane to replace Trent McDuffie, who was traded to the Los Angeles Rams.
