Carson Wentz appears to be a Chiefs one-and-done. Kansas City will bring in a recent AFC West rival to replace him, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports Gardner Minshew is Missouri-bound.
Designated a post-June 1 cut by the Raiders on Wednesday, Minshew will back up Patrick Mahomes next season. It is a bit interesting Minshew will take a deal so soon, as a few bridge opportunities may still exist. But the Chiefs have convinced the veteran to accept a QB2 role in his seventh year. It is a one-year agreement.
Minshew’s Raiders year did not go well, as he follows Jimmy Garoppolo in receiving a post-June 1 release designation to leave Las Vegas. Antonio Pierce benched Minshew on multiple occasions, and he suffered a broken collarbone during a November game against the Broncos. The Raiders used a failed physical designation to release Minshew, making this quick Chiefs agreement interesting from another angle.
Like Wentz, Blaine Gabbert and Chad Henne before him, Minshew will step into the Mahomes QB2 role as an experienced starter. The former sixth-round pick has 46 starts on his resume. This includes a solid season with the Colts, as the Anthony Richardson injury fill-in piloted the team to the playoff precipice in 2023. Last season, Minshew was tied to a Raiders team that let Josh Jacobs walk and traded Davante Adams after he played just two 2024 games. Pierce named Minshew the starter but was certainly not satisfied with his work, expressing frustration about the Raiders’ QB situation behind the scenes and pulling the veteran for Aidan O’Connell in multiple games.
Minshew, 29 in May, went 2-7 as a starter last season and posted a 9-10 TD-INT ratio. Minshew did up his completion percentage to 66.3 but averaged only 6.6 yards per attempt. With the Colts in 2023, the ex-Jaguars draftee went 7-6 in place of Richardson and posted a 15-9 TD-INT ratio. Minshew still averaged only 6.7 yards per pass as a Colt, but Indianapolis wanted him back in a veteran role. The Raiders’ two-year, $25MM offer proved well out of Indy’s price range, and Minshew will not collect anything close to that with the Chiefs.
Mahomes, 30 in September, has proven durable since a scare during the 2019 season. Although he has suffered multiple ankle injuries over the past three seasons, the three-time Super Bowl MVP has been able to largely play through them. With no need to develop a quarterback, the Chiefs have continued to take the veteran route. Minshew will be the latest to stop through Kansas City behind the QB icon.
He’ll never touch the field but solid backup signing
You just got a 15-yard penalty even thinking about Mahomes getting hurt.
I just got fined $45,237.64 for even reading your comment about MahJesus I mean Mahomes getting hurt
The Mahomes experiment is over. He tried his best but at some point, the Grim Reaper comes to tap us all on the shoulder. RIP Patty
Is your act on HBO?
“The Raiders used a failed physical designation to release Minshew”
Do teams have to give a reason for cutting someone? Is there some benefit to the “failed physical” route as opposed to just cutting him cuz they think he sucks?
I believe it means his collarbone injury has not fully healed or there is another injury.
The dude is going to is going to put up 12 points for my fantasy team week 18!
-12 points