Patrick Mahomes and Chiefs hit with reality check in post free agency news
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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
The Kansas City Chiefs locked in one of the top backup quarterbacks in the NFL when they traded a sixth-round pick to acquire Justin Fields from the New York Jets, and the team did so because of the uncertainty surrounding Patrick Mahomes‘ availability for the start of next season.
Head coach Andy Reid spoke to both topics during an interview with Judy Battista of NFL Network on Saturday, March 28 from the league’s annual meeting in Phoenix.
“He spends a ton of time in the building,” Reid said of Mahomes, adding that the QB is “doing great” after tearing his ACL late last season. “He’s in there for seven hours a day. It’s showing, the progress.”
However, Reid added a caveat to protect against expectations that Mahomes will definitely be back in the starting lineup come Week 1.
“Now, to tell you a timeline? I mean, I know what he’s striving for,” Reid added. “We’ll just see where it goes from there.”
Justin Fields Among Most Capable, Experienced Backup QBs in NFL
Justin Fields, Jets
GettyFormer New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields.
If Mahomes is unable to return to the field by early September, Kansas City can turn to Fields who has started 53 games across his five-year career after the Chicago Bears made him a first-round pick in the 2021 draft.
“We snuck out and got a good quarterback to back [Mahomes] up,” Reid said. “If [Mahomes is] not able to make it for the beginning of the season, then we know we’ve got a legitimate backup there that can go win games for us.”
Fields is only 16-37 as a starter, though he has played in difficult situations. He spent his first three years in Chicago amid the start of the team’s rebuild under current GM Ryan Poles that only recently hit the milestones of the team’s first division title since 2018 and first playoff win since 2010 — both of which came last season.
Fields got six starts with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024, going 4-2 across 10 appearances. He was 2-7 in nine starts with the Jets last season, who rostered one of the league’s worst teams and will pick second overall in the draft next month.
Over the course of his professional tenure, Fields has put up 9,039 yards, 52 TDs and 32 INTs on 61.4 percent passing, adding 2,892 rushing yards and 23 scores.
Chiefs Have Clearly Indicated Intentions to Compete for Playoffs, Super Bowl Next Season
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
GettyKansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
Kansas City just suffered through its first losing season since 2012 and fell short of the AFC title game for the first time in seven years. In the aftermath of that regression, the team has clear intentions of bouncing back into immediate contention in 2026, despite Mahomes’ injury.
Signing Fields is a clear indication of that, as is the return of tight end Travis Kelce who considered retirement and wouldn’t likely be coming back for his 14th season if he didn’t believe the Chiefs were all-in on competing from Week 1.
Ben Solak of ESPN predicted in February that the Chiefs might sit Mahomes for the first four or five weeks of the campaign to ensure his full health and readiness. Because while the franchise obviously wants to get back in the playoff mix in 2026, Mahomes turns just 31 years old this September and could have up to a decade of good-to-great football still ahead of him.
Hence the acquisition of Fields, who is an elite rusher from the quarterback position and a solid enough passer to keep Kansas City’s collective head above water, assuming the team can construct enough protection in front of him and install enough skill-position talent around him.