Whoever qualifies, it will be the first season since 1998 where neither Mahomes, Tom Brady nor Peyton Manning feature in the NFL play-offs.
Mahomes was drafted in 2017 and after becoming Kansas City’s starting quarterback in 2018, he has led the Chiefs to five of the past six Super Bowls.
The earliest a Mahomes team has previously bowed out of title contention has been overtime in the AFC Championship game – effectively a Super Bowl semi-final – so perhaps a Mahomes injury was inevitable.
“The Chiefs have played more football than any other team,” said Schecter. “You add up all those play-off games, it’s like playing an extra season, so you get injuries, you get fatigue.
“And because they’ve always been at the top, they’ve never had a high draft pick, either, so they’ve not been able to build the rest of the team.”
Mahomes has already had surgery after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament and lateral collateral ligament in his left knee, so the 30-year-old could miss the start of next season.
Tight end Travis Kelce, 36, could retire at the end of this season, while defensive tackle Chris Jones turns 32 in July, but since the Chiefs won’t be a play-off team, at least they will have a higher pick than they have been used to at next year’s NFL Draft in April.
“[Head coach] Andy Reid and [defensive coordinator] Steve Spagnuolo are incredible coaches who know exactly how to build a team and sustain success,” Schecter added.
“I just think that certain players might step back. Do people want to continue playing who maybe thought, ‘let’s try and get one more Super Bowl’? Or do they decide to retire now?”
