Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green has issued a sobering warning to Kansas City Chiefs supporters: do not expect to see star quarterback Patrick Mahomes on the field next season.
A Season-Ending Blow
The three-time Super Bowl champion suffered a devastating knee injury last Sunday, tearing both his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and lateral collateral ligament (LCL) during a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. The injury immediately ended his 2025 campaign.
While Green has never torn an ACL himself and last played organised American football during spring practice at Michigan State in 2011, he understands the brutal demands of professional sport. Speaking to podcaster Jordan Schultz, he outlined the arduous rehabilitation facing Mahomes.
"These ACLs are truly 10 to 12-month processes," Green stated. "Even though people do them in six or eight months, these things are 10 to 12-month processes."
The Long Road Ahead and Contract Realities
With the Chiefs already eliminated from postseason contention, the franchise could struggle to reach the playoffs next year without their talismanic quarterback for a significant portion of the season. However, for Green, competitive concerns are overshadowed by the sheer scale of Kansas City's financial investment in Mahomes.
The quarterback still has approximately $265 million remaining on the 10-year, $450 million extension he signed in 2020. Green pointed directly to this contract, suggesting Mahomes might miss the entirety of the 2026 season.
"He's got another 10 years of football," Green said of the 30-year-old Mahomes. "So are you rushing back in five, six months? The investment in that guy is too great for that." He added, "If I'm the Chiefs, I'm looking at it like, 'We need to get the best backup we can because we don't have him for next year.'"
Life Beyond the Game
Green emphasised that the impact of such a severe injury extends far beyond missed games and training sessions, affecting daily life for the better part of a year.
"He's a competitor, he's a champion, so he's going to do everything he can to come back next year," Green acknowledged. "But I think people tend to forget you don't just miss games or practices. You live that injury every day. You want to play with your kids, you live that injury. You get up off the couch, you live that injury. It impacts your way of life."
The Chiefs do have an experienced backup in Gardner Minshew, a 29-year-old who earned a Pro Bowl nomination with the Indianapolis Colts in 2023. Minshew, with 46 starts across seven seasons, now has several weeks to stake his claim for the starting job until Mahomes returns.
Green's perspective is informed by witnessing a similar ordeal firsthand. His former Warriors teammate, Klay Thompson, famously tore his ACL during the 2019 NBA Finals, only to then tear his Achilles tendon while rehabilitating the following year. Thompson was sidelined for over 900 days in total.
