Kansas City Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt is in attendance at the NFL’s Annual League Meetings, which are being held from Sunday through Wednesday.
All 32 owners from around the league are discussing a number of topics. Many have wondered who the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks will be hosting in the 2026 season opener, with the Chiefs being among the possibilities.
The game will take place on a Wednesday night instead of the traditional Thursday due to the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers‘ matchup airing on Thursday, though the game will technically be played on Friday morning Australia time.
Clark Hunt Is Confident Kansas City Chiefs Will Not Play in 2026 Season Opener
ESPN Chiefs insider Nate Taylor was able to speak with Hunt at the league meetings, and although nothing is official, it doesn’t sound like Hunt is too concerned with the Chiefs playing the Seahawks during the season opener.
“I don’t think that’s on the table anymore,” Hunt stated. “I think from a league standpoint, there would be some concern whether [Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes] would be ready to go. My guess is the [NFL] won’t want to take that risk. We’ve all seen some of the videos of [Mahomes’] rehab. By every indication, he’s ahead of schedule, and has worked really hard to be ahead of schedule.”
Of course, the focus of this scenario is the timetable of Mahomes’ ACL recovery. However, Taylor pointed out that the NFL scheduled the New England Patriots to play in the 2009 season opener despite quarterback Tom Brady coming off a torn ACL.
“It’s not a request we’ve made,” Hunt said. “It sounds like a good idea [for the NFL], although it’s only 1 [more] day.”
It would be a risky move for the league to choose Kansas City to play Seattle since it is unknown if Mahomes will be available to start the regular season. A quarterback matchup between the Seahawks’ Sam Darnold and new Chiefs’ backup Justin Fields wouldn’t likely be a great recipe for television ratings. Among the other options for Seattle to play in Week 1 are the Arizona Cardinals, New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, and Chicago Bears.
Looking Ahead at the Chiefs’ 2026 Schedule
Getty
The full regular season NFL schedule doesn’t get released until mid-May, a few weeks following the 2026 NFL Draft. However, we already know all the Chiefs’ opponents, which include:
Ideally, the Chiefs will begin with a weaker opponent in a non-primetime slot. That would be a nice change of pace from the past several years, allowing them to ease into the season. It would be especially helpful if it is, in fact, Fields who is under center for Kansas City rather than Mahomes.
The Chiefs will certainly have plenty of primetime games, with matchups against the Bills, Patriots, and Rams as ones to keep an eye on. Kansas City could also play on Christmas Day for the third consecutive year.
