Andy Reid Confirms Patrick Mahomes Will Sit Out Chiefs’ Preseason Opener vs. Rams
Patrick Mahomes will not play when the Kansas City Chiefs open their preseason against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium. Head coach Andy Reid confirmed the decision this week, ending speculation about whether the two-time MVP would take his first snaps since tearing his ACL and LCL last season.
“The way the rotation will go is Pat won’t start or play,” Reid said, according to Chiefs on SI. “So it’ll be Justin (Fields) and then (Garrett) Nussmeier, and then Chris (Oladokun) will take it from there.”
Chiefs reporter Matt McMullen first relayed the news, and it was later confirmed by CBS Sports, which cited the team’s official site. The plan lines up with what Reid has signaled for weeks: Mahomes will not be rushed onto the field just to shake off rust in a game that carries no real stakes.
Mahomes Eight Months Removed From Knee Surgery
Mahomes has taken part in every training camp practice this summer, working his way back from the torn ACL and LCL that ended his 2025 season in Week 15 against the Chargers. By kickoff Saturday, he’ll be roughly eight months removed from surgery. Full participation in camp drills is one thing. Live contact in a game that means nothing to the standings is another, and Reid has made clear he’s not willing to gamble with it.
Safety Tyrann Mathieu, who watched Mahomes work at camp, came away impressed with what he saw, according to HITC. Still, practice reps and preseason snaps against unfamiliar pass rushers are different tests, and Kansas City clearly isn’t ready to find out yet.
Chris Jones Wants No Part of Preseason Snaps, Either
Mahomes wasn’t the only Chiefs starter making the case for caution this week. Defensive tackle Chris Jones told reporters Thursday he’d rather the whole starting lineup sit Saturday.
“Why play the starters? I mean, it’s so much risk you’re taking to play starters in preseason. I hope Coach Reid will be like, ‘You know what, starters don’t play,'” Jones said, per Yardbarker.
Reporter Matt Derrick captured video of Jones making the comments and posted it to X. Derrick posted on X: “Chris Jones said Thursday he hopes Andy Reid won’t play the Chiefs’ starters against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday”
Chris Jones said Thursday he hopes Andy Reid won’t play the Chiefs’ starters against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday, and he had a demonstrative reason why.
“I want to play against your starters.” pic.twitter.com/FcU10aoPB5
— Matt Derrick (@mattderrick) August 13, 2026
Jones, now 32 and entering his 11th NFL season, didn’t rule out playing himself if asked. “I don’t want to play preseason. I’d rather not play, but if I do have to play, I’ma buckle up,” he said. He added that he’d rather see the Rams’ starters across from him instead, so he can gauge himself against players who’ll actually be on the field in Week 1: “I want to play against their starters. You know what I mean? I want to play against the guys that are going to be starting on Sunday, because you like to weigh yourself out — where I’m at, where I can improve.”
That matchup looks unlikely regardless. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford isn’t expected to play Saturday either, continuing head coach Sean McVay’s long-standing habit of resting his starters in exhibition games.
Bengals-Lions Game Shows the Real Risk
Jones’s caution isn’t hypothetical. The Cincinnati Bengals started Joe Burrow on Thursday night against the Detroit Lions, and it didn’t take long for the downside to show up. Burrow was sacked on Cincinnati’s opening drive, part of a two-series outing in which he completed 5 of 6 passes for 39 yards before giving way to Joe Flacco, according to Yahoo Sports. He also took a hard hit on his one incompletion.
NFL insider Ari Meirov posted video of the sack on X: “#Bengals QB Joe Burrow is sacked on the opening possession of preseason”
#Bengals QB Joe Burrow is sacked on the opening possession of preseason: pic.twitter.com/4KxPexj694
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 13, 2026
Burrow walked away from it, and the Bengals went on to win the game. But the sequence is exactly the scenario Jones is trying to avoid: a franchise quarterback absorbing hits in a game that won’t affect anyone’s playoff seeding.
How the Chiefs’ Depth Chart Shakes Out
| Quarterback | Status vs. Rams | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Patrick Mahomes | Will not play | Recovering from ACL/LCL tear, targeting Week 1 |
| Justin Fields | Expected to play | First quarterback in rotation, per Reid |
| Garrett Nussmeier | Expected to play | Second in rotation |
| Chris Oladokun | Expected to play | Closes out the game |
The bigger picture hasn’t changed. Kansas City opens the regular season on Monday Night Football against the Denver Broncos on Sept. 14, and everything between now and then is built around getting Mahomes there healthy. A clean, uneventful preseason opener does more for the Chiefs than any highlight Mahomes could produce against the Rams’ backups.
