Analyst Sounds Off on Chiefs Quarterback Insurance

The Chiefs remember the game well. It was Sept. 7, 2008, at Gillette Stadium. In the first few minutes of his eighth season as a starter, Tom Brady sustained ACL and MCL injuries in his left knee after a low hit from Kansas City safety Bernard Pollard.

Patrick Mahomes is entering his eighth season as a starter. If the Chiefs were to lose Mahomes to unthinkable circumstances similar to those that ended Brady’s 2008 campaign, Pat Kirwan believes Andy Reid would be in great hands with Gardner Minshew and Bailey Zappe.

“I hope I don’t see it, in one sense, because that would mean Mahomes got hurt,” Kirwan said Friday on SiriusXM’s Movin’ the Chains, “but I would love to see what Andy's influence on Minshew is. Minshew’s a gamer, comes off the bench as kind of a spark plug.”

That’s one way to describe Minshew, one of the most unique quarterbacks in the league. Kansas City – his fourth team in as many years -- signed the journeyman as an unrestricted free agent in March. Last year, Minshew beat out Aidan O’Connell in a Raiders camp competition but finished the year 2-7, with nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He kept the Colts afloat the year before, alongside then-rookie Anthony Richardson.

Minshew has about an 11.4-percent chance of playing just two quarters this season. That’s the probability that an injury sidelines Mahomes for that amount of time, according to the injury analytics at DraftSharks.com. The two-time MVP is among the NFL’s most durable quarterbacks.

The last two starts Mahomes has missed were meaningless Week 18 season finales, each of the last two seasons, but he has missed important stretches.

In the divisional round of the 2022 playoffs, Mahomes sustained an ankle injury midway through the second quarter against Jacksonville. While halftime X-rays were negative and Mahomes returned with a heavily taped ankle in the third quarter, the Chiefs needed Chad Henne to avoid a major upset.

In relief of Mahomes, Henne orchestrated a second-quarter scoring drive, going 5 of 7 for 23 yards with a short touchdown toss to Travis Kelce that gave the Chiefs an important 17-7 advantage. Kansas City wound up with a 27-20 win on its way to another Super Bowl title.

Henne made two relief appearances the year before that. He started the 2020 season finale against the Chargers with the Chiefs having wrapped up the AFC’s No. 1 seed, but Kansas City needed him two weeks later.

Again in the divisional playoffs, this time against Cleveland, Henne supplied critical snaps over the final 1½ quarters with Mahomes sidelined with a concussion. Henne entered mid-drive on a third-quarter series and finished the game 6 of 8 for 66 yards, helping the Chiefs secure a 22-17 win en route to another Super Bowl berth.

Matt Moore was Kansas City’s saving grace in 2019, when Mahomes dislocated his kneecap on a fourth-and-1 conversion in Week 7 at Denver. Mahomes missed the next two starts, a 31-24 loss to Green Bay and a 26-23 win over Minnesota, but Moore was solid in relief.

He threw two touchdowns against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, then engineered both the game-tying and walk-off scoring drives in the last three minutes of Kansas City’s win over the Vikings.

The common thread in all those appearances in relief of Mahomes was protecting the ball. Neither Henne nor Moore lost a fumble and the only turnover between them was one Henne interception.

The ability of Andy Reid and Brett Veach to install reliable safety nets in the event of a Mahomes injury is a major reason SiriusXM rated the Chiefs’ quarterback room of Mahomes, Minshew and Zappe as best in the NFL.

“Every guy that's been a two for Andy Reid has delivered and played their best football, all the way to some phenomenal performances,” Kirwan said. “I really want to see how Andy molds Minshew into a Chiefs quarterback.”