Texas Tech Professional Athletes

The Mahomes Watch

Patrick Mahomes says playing in the Chiefs' season opener against the Denver Broncos on Sept. 14 has "always been the plan" — but the rest of Kansas City isn't quite as certain.

The Texas Tech quarterback is still waiting on full medical clearance after suffering a knee injury in December, and head coach Andy Reid declined to make any firm predictions about Mahomes' Week 1 availability when asked Monday. That measured tone from the sideline stands in contrast to Mahomes' own confidence: he avoided the physically unable to perform list at the start of training camp and has practiced without issue all summer, telling reporters his comfort level improves with every rep.

Still, the situation is uncertain enough that Polymarket — the prediction market platform — quietly withdrew a wager tied to whether Mahomes plays in Week 1, a rare move that underscored just how live the uncertainty remains. If Mahomes can't go, Justin Fields would be in line to start Kansas City's opener.

Preseason Silence, Offseason Maneuvering

Mahomes sat out the Chiefs' preseason finale against the Seahawks on Friday, which was the expected call given both his knee rehab and the team's standard veteran rest protocol — but it did nothing to quiet the noise. Kansas City has been cautious about overexposing its franchise QB before the lights actually come on.

Behind the scenes, the Chiefs moved to shore up Mahomes' protection in a low-risk trade with the Giants, adding an offensive lineman as insurance ahead of the season. Who lines up at right tackle for Week 1 remains an open question, with the competition still unsettled heading into the final week of the preseason.

The broader offensive picture isn't entirely rosy either. CBS Sports ranked Kansas City's wide receiver room as a weak spot for the offense, and analysts have flagged that the Chiefs' unit has trended backward over the past three seasons — even as Mahomes continues to perform at an elite level. ESPN's NFL watchability rankings buried the Chiefs lower than many expected, despite the looming prospect of what could be Mahomes' final season alongside tight end Travis Kelce.

Reasons for Optimism

Not everyone is sounding alarms. One analytical model points to a specific efficiency stat — Mahomes converting at a 65% clip in a key metric — as the foundation for a predicted Kansas City rebound in 2026. If Mahomes is healthy and the offense finds its footing, the argument goes, the Chiefs are built to re-enter powerhouse territory.

For Red Raiders fans, the week is a waiting game. Mahomes has consistently downplayed concern and the reporting suggests he is trending toward taking the field against Denver. But until Andy Reid says the words out loud, Week 1 remains officially unresolved — and the most consequential Texas Tech alumni storyline in the NFL this preseason.

Patrick Mahomes is still Patrick Mahomes — but for the first time in his NFL career, the rest of the league's players don't have him in their top five.

The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback landed at No. 18 on the 2026 NFL Top 100, a 13-spot drop from his ranking a year ago and the first time since he entered the list that he's fallen outside the top five. The ranking, voted on by active players, reflects a broader narrative that has quietly built around Mahomes heading into 2026: the Chiefs' offense has ranked 19th in points per game since 2023, Kansas City's Super Bowl odds have stretched to 16-1 — the longest since Mahomes' first year as a starter — and the team's offensive line has required mid-preseason reinforcements, including the signing of UFL champion Kellen Diesch amid a rash of injuries up front.

None of that erases three Super Bowl rings or makes Mahomes anything less than the game's most accomplished active quarterback. But No. 18 is a data point, and the football world is watching to see whether the Chiefs' offense can engineer a turnaround from what has quietly become a three-year production slump.

In the short term, Texas Tech's most famous alum won't be adding preseason tape to the argument. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid confirmed Mahomes will not play this week in Kansas City's preseason schedule — a routine precaution for a franchise quarterback, but one that leaves questions about receiver depth and offensive chemistry unanswered heading into the regular season.

Back in Lubbock, a Different Kind of Celebration

While the NFL conversation around Mahomes tilts toward questions, Texas Tech is leaning hard into celebration. The university unveiled a new third edition of Patrick Mahomes-branded Adidas uniforms ahead of the 2026 college football season — the latest installment in a partnership that has turned the Red Raiders' gameday look into a recruiting and brand asset tied directly to the program's most marketable name. The video reveal drew immediate attention online and reinforced just how thoroughly Mahomes has become intertwined with Texas Tech's identity long after he left Lubbock.

Steele Feeling the Heat in Dallas

Elsewhere in the Texas Tech NFL diaspora, right tackle Terence Steele is facing scrutiny of his own. Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer singled out Steele this week, saying directly that the veteran offensive lineman "needs to be better" and calling for more consistency from the right side of Dallas's line. It's a pointed message for a player who has spent his entire career in Dallas — and a sign that the Cowboys' coaching staff isn't planning to ease into the 2026 season quietly.

The Red Raiders' alumni group in the NFL is as deep as it's ever been, with more than two dozen players on active rosters from Kansas City to New Orleans to Philadelphia. But this week, all roads ran through Mahomes — and the complicated, fascinating moment he finds himself in heading into what could be the most scrutinized season of his career.

The Knee, the Sideline, and a Familiar Opponent

Patrick Mahomes didn't play in Kansas City's preseason opener against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday — but he was on the field throwing beforehand, which was its own kind of statement.

The Chiefs quarterback is working back from a serious knee injury suffered in December, and head coach Andy Reid confirmed earlier in the week that Mahomes would sit out Week 1. The decision, per reports, wasn't fully in Mahomes's hands — team management and medical staff had a say — and he's been measured in his public comments about the recovery, generating enough optimism to, as The Sporting News put it, "fire fans up."

The picture isn't entirely rosy, though. NFL analyst James Palmer has flagged broader concerns about the Chiefs' offensive ceiling in 2026, pointing to a weapons problem that places enormous strain on Mahomes regardless of his health. Kansas City did add running back Kenneth Walker III during the offseason, and both Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce have publicly praised the acquisition — but questions about the supporting cast linger. For a quarterback managing a knee injury into a new season, that context matters.

A Red Raider on the Other Sideline

Here's where it gets interesting for Texas Tech alumni: the team Kansas City opened the preseason against was the Rams, and Los Angeles just signed Texas Tech cornerback Zech McPhearson. The former Red Raider inked his deal with the Rams on Monday ahead of the Week 1 matchup, landing him in a game that also featured the most famous player from his alma mater — even if Mahomes was watching in street clothes.

McPhearson, listed on the alumni roster as a linebacker/defensive back, adds another Red Raider to an NFL roster heading into 2026 roster cuts. Whether he sticks through the preseason remains to be seen, but his timing couldn't have been more on-brand for a Texas Tech alumni week.

The Rest of the Red Raider Roster

Beyond the Mahomes and McPhearson storylines, Texas Tech continues to maintain an unusually wide NFL footprint heading into the 2026 preseason. Fellow Red Raiders with roster spots this week include:

• Tyler Shough (Saints, QB) — the former Texas Tech signal-caller representing Lubbock at the position level beyond Mahomes
• SaRodorick Thompson Jr. (Rams, RB) — also on the Los Angeles roster for Saturday's Chiefs-Rams opener
• Erik Ezukanma (Eagles, WR) and Myles Price (Vikings, WR) — two receivers fighting for spots deep into training camp
• Tyree Wilson (Saints, DE) and Jordyn Brooks (Dolphins, LB) — veterans anchoring defensive units

With 28 alumni currently on NFL rosters across the league, Texas Tech's pipeline into professional football is as deep as it's ever been. The headliner, though, remains Mahomes — and for Red Raider fans, the most pressing storyline of the 2026 NFL season is a simple one: how does that knee hold up when it counts?

The Chiefs' next preseason game will offer another data point. For now, the image of Mahomes throwing on the field before kickoff — not yet cleared to play, but clearly itching to — is the one that will carry through the week.

Patrick Mahomes is doing the work. Whether the Kansas City Chiefs let him prove it in the preseason is a different question entirely.

Two weeks into 2026 training camp, the Texas Tech product is pushing hard in his recovery from the ACL and LCL tears he suffered last December — injuries that ended his season and handed Kansas City a six-win year. Mahomes told reporters his left knee "feels great" and said he's "trying to push it" as he eyes a Week 1 return. The urgency is unmistakable.

Andy Reid, however, isn't ready to hand him the keys just yet. The Chiefs head coach said the "percentages probably lean against" playing Mahomes in the preseason at all, and confirmed that Mahomes is unlikely to suit up for Kansas City's preseason opener against the Rams on Aug. 15. The math is simple: protect the franchise, skip the exhibitions, arrive healthy for what matters.

That calculation comes with real stakes. Kansas City's offense has been trending the wrong direction for three straight seasons, and at least one anonymous NFL general manager publicly questioned whether Mahomes — even a healthy Mahomes — can reassume the role of one-man show immediately after a torn ACL. The doubters are louder than they've been in years. A separate quarterback ranking circulated this week placed three other signal-callers ahead of the Red Raider icon, a demotion that would have seemed unthinkable 18 months ago.

Still, the on-field signals remain encouraging. Mahomes is moving well in camp, and the Chiefs are optimistic about a full Week 1 availability. Futures markets already have Kansas City priced with Mahomes expected under center for the opener. The bigger question isn't his knee — it's whether the surrounding cast is ready to help carry a load that's grown heavier each season.

For Texas Tech fans tracking the broader NFL alumni landscape, the Red Raiders have one of the deeper rosters of graduates in the league this summer. Tyler Shough is competing at quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, giving the program a pair of QBs on active rosters. Tyree Wilson — also with the Saints — is working to establish himself as a pass-rush presence after being a first-round pick. Terence Steele continues in the trenches for the Cowboys, Broderick Washington is in Baltimore's defensive front, and Jordyn Brooks looks to make his mark with Miami at linebacker after leaving Seattle.

But right now, all Red Raider eyes are on Mahomes. The preseason silence is by design — a calculated bet that the best version of No. 15 shows up when the games count. If his camp reports are any indication, he's not planning to wait long to remind the league's GMs and ranking panels exactly who they're dealing with.