NFL weighing up Patrick Mahomes risk amid scheduling decision and Andy Reid update
One of the major events of the NFL offseason is set to be ticked off this month.
The NFL is set to release the 2026 schedule at some point in May, but it’s already facing the potential of a delay.
It was expected to come out the week commencing 11 May, but a new report from NFL vice president Mike North has thrown those plans into question.
“Most fans know full well that the schedule comes out in mid-May now,” North said on the It’s Always Gameday in Buffalo podcast.
“That’s what we have done the last five or six years. That’s sort of our target. Is there any magic to May 12,13,14? No.
“Is there any real downside to May 19,20 or 21? No.I don’t think it’s coming out in June, but that second week of May has been our target in the last few years.
“I don’t know that it’s impossible to think about that third week in May.”
A potential reason for a delay involves Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
No team in the league has drawn more primetime TV ratings than Mahomes and the Chiefs over the last five years, but a question remains entering the 2026 season.
With Mahomes still recovering from his torn ACL and LCL injury the league likely can’t afford to push all the Chiefs prime time games until later in the year.
“He is one of the biggest stars in the league, and I don’t think any of us would feel great if we had him in prime time early in the season and he missed the first four weeks or whatever,” North continued.
“That being said, that’s a good football team, that’s a good coach over there, and they went and signed a veteran starting quarterback in this league.”
Kansas City added Justin Fields to serve as the back-up or potential starter to begin the season.
But North questioned whether a big early season matchup like the Buffalo Bills vs the Chiefs would pull in the same numbers if it was Fields vs Josh Allen.
“Would the league want to use the big Chiefs-Bills game in Week 1? That’s a fair question,” North continued.
“I’m not sure it does 30 or 35 million viewers in Week 1 without Patrick Mahomes. So certainly some thought of maximizing that quarterback and this rivalry.”
North and NFL executives may breathe a sigh of relief, however, after Chiefs general manager Brett Veach and head coach Andy Reid provided updates on Mahomes’ progress.
Mahomes on track to participate in Chiefs OTA’s
Veach told SiriusXM on Monday that Mahomes is ‘way ahead of schedule’, echoing a statement that Reid gave on Saturday.
Reid said, via ESPN, that Mahomes is on track to participate alongside his teammates at the upcoming OTA’s between May 26-28.
“He’s in a good position to be able to do some things,” Reid said of Mahomes.
“If he can do some things [he’ll do it.] Phase 2 [of the offseason program], remember, there’s no contact and there’s no offense versus defense.
“It’s Phase 3 that you get into that. He’s in a position where he can do everything, I think.”
Mahomes released a video of himself throwing in the Chiefs training facility recently, dropping back and putting weight on the knee.
It’s encouraging signs for the Chiefs, who finished 2025 with a 6-11 record, their worst record since 2012.
Questions will be answered soon, but the most important thing for Kansas City and Mahomes is that he returns to the field healthy.
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