Patrick Mahomes injury update: Chiefs QB suffered a torn ACL and is out for the season

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes injured his left knee late in the fourth quarter of his team's Week 15 game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

The injury occurred as Mahomes was tackled from behind by Chargers defensive end Da'Shawn Hand. Mahomes immediately reached for his left knee after being rolled up from behind and remained down on the sideline as he received treatment from Kansas City's medical staff.

Mahomes was eventually helped to his feet and hobbled over to the bench. He was taken to the blue medical tent for further treatment before being seen hobbling into the locker room with two Chiefs staffers holding him up by the shoulders.

Mahomes was replaced by veteran backup Gardner Minshew. The 29-year-old completed 3 of 5 passes for 22 yards in place of Mahomes but threw an interception to Derwin James with just 14 seconds remaining in regulation.

The pick sealed a 16-13 loss for the Chiefs and eliminated them from postseason contention.

Patrick Mahomes injury update

The Chiefs announced Mahomes had an MRI that determined he had suffered a torn ACL in his left knee. He will miss the remainder of the season because of the injury and the team noted Mahomes and the club are "currently exploring surgical options."

Kansas City's announcement came after Andy Reid told reporters during his postgame news conference that Mahomes would have an MRI on his injured left knee by Monday. The 67-year-old sounded pessimistic when discussing the star quarterback's injury.

"It didn’t look good," Reid said when asked about Mahomes' injury. "We'll just see where it goes."

On Dec. 15, Reid added that the passer will seek a second opinion on the injury.

"For information, Patrick (Mahomes) is going to go back to Dallas for a second opinion with Dr. (Dan) Cooper, and we’ll just see. We’ll give you updates as we go from there," he said Monday.

Mahomes did not speak to the media after the game while receiving medical treatment. He did, however, address the torn ACL in a social media post a couple of hours after the game ended.

"Don’t know why this had to happen," Mahomes wrote. "And not going to lie it’s hurts. But all we can do now is Trust in God and attack every single day over and over again."

The Chiefs did not immediately provide an update about Mahomes' status after he exited the game. Just two minutes remained in the fourth quarter when he left the field, and he did not return to action.

Chiefs QB depth chart

The Chiefs have just three quarterbacks in their organization, including Mahomes. They are as follows:

1. Patrick Mahomes
2. Gardner Minshew
3. Chris Oladokun (practice squad)

Minshew is expected to start in place of Mahomes for the rest of the season. Minshew has a career record of 17-29 in 46 career starts and has completed 63.3% of his career passes for 68 touchdowns and 34 interceptions.

This story will be updated.