Kansas City Chiefs release quarterback T.J. Linta with injury settlement

The Kansas City Chiefs are going to release rookie free agent quarterback signing T.J. Linta with an injury settlement, per Adam Caplan.

The Kansas City Chiefs were looking at a significant number of quarterbacks in training camp this offseason given the number of signings by Brett Veach after this year’s draft. However, the ranks have gotten just a bit thinner with word that the Chiefs will release quarterback T.J. Linta with an injury settlement, per NFL reporter Adam Caplan.

Linta was brought in immediately after the draft for rookie minicamp and was a priority free agent signing for the Chiefs—one of several impressive players to make up one of the league’s most heralded undrafted hauls. Unfortunately for Linta, the competition was already going to be fierce given the presence of holdover Chase Litton, an undrafted free agent quarterback from Marshall from last spring, as well as other new arrivals like Princeton’s John Lovett and Vanderbilt’s Kyle Shurmur.

What complicates matters even more for these young quarterbacks hoping for a roster spot is that the Chiefs only carried two signal callers last season, and those two spots are already spoken for: Patrick Mahomes and Chad Henne. That means that the players are likely fighting for precious practice squad spots. Would the Chiefs really carry two developmental quarterbacks?

Linta, a former starter at Wagner, looked the part at 6’4, 240 lbs. and the Chiefs saw something there in the first place, which is why they originally signed him to a three-year deal at $1.755 million. It’s interesting that they didn’t want to stash him on injured reserve instead of setting him free outright with a settlement, but that’s likely a question that will remain unanswered.

The QB3 competition is likely down to Shurmur and Litton, with the latter as the odds-on favorite given his experience with the Chiefs already. However, Shurmur enjoyed a record-setting career at Vandy and should provide plenty of competition this preseason. The Chiefs are also clearly enamored with Lovett, but it’s possible he makes the roster as a Taysom Hill type, a special teams dynamo who can also be folded into the offense as a versatile tight end meets halfback with obvious quarterback skills from his days at Princeton.

Either way, Linta now clears the picture just a bit with his release.