Chad Henne injury update: Chiefs quarterback scheduled for ankle surgery

The Kansas City Chiefs will be without their backup quarterback heading into the end of the preseason with Chad Henne’s upcoming ankle surgery.

The Kansas City Chiefs have arguably the single best quarterback in the National Football League. After Patrick Mahomes, however, the freefall is precipitous from there with the news that his backup Chad Henne need surgery for a fractured ankle. In his absence, the Chiefs are reportedly signing quarterback Matt Moore.

Matt Derrick reported on Monday that Henne will undergo surgery to repair a fractured ankle suffered over the weekend. Without the alternate signing of Moore, the team’s quarterback position would have been in a bit of a tense situation. Mahomes is a sure thing as the reigning Most Valuable Player, but should anything happen to the face of the franchise, the Chiefs would have been forced to start either Chase Litton or rookie free agent Kyle Shurmur.

Shurmur looked solid in relief of both Mahomes and Henne on Saturday versus the visiting San Francisco 49ers, but no one would ever use that as a measuring stick for the regular season. Shurmur and Henne are battling it out for third quarterback and nothing more—and even that roster spot is not assured of anything. Instead, the winner might even be forced to settle for a practice squad role.

Henne, who was a second round pick in 2008 NFL Draft, is 34 years old and his presence gives the Chiefs some security and mentorship at a position where they are woefully young. Henne played in a single game last season for the Chiefs, completing 2 of 3 passes in extremely limited action.

During his career, Henne is 18-35 as a starting quarterback and has spent the majority of his time in the NFL as a backup since 2014, mostly with the Jacksonville Jaguars behind Blake Bortles. He’s in his second season with the Chiefs.