Mahomes is back, and his blind side is an open question

Patrick Mahomes was cleared Active for Week 1, which is the news everyone wanted. The other news is that Josh Simmons remains Questionable, and Kahlil Benson — undrafted, no regular-season snaps — is the name behind the left tackle spot if Simmons can't go. I wrote about Benson getting that job earlier this week. Now it's actually here.

The timing is what it is. Mahomes is nine months removed from the torn ACL and LCL he suffered in Week 15 last season, played no preseason snaps under Andy Reid's conservative approach, and opens 2026 with limited live reps and a rookie protecting his surgically repaired knee from the blind side. That's a lot of variables stacked in the same corner of the formation.

Simmons is still listed Questionable, so there's a chance this resolves itself before kickoff. But if it doesn't, the Chiefs are asking Benson to handle his first NFL assignment against a defense that will know exactly where to look.