KC Chiefs roster: Patrick Mahomes, Chad Henne are only quarterbacks for now

It’s the move most of us in Chiefs Kingdom expected all along, but it’s still notable that for another year, the K.C. Chiefs feel comfortable enough to go with only two quarterbacks on the active roster heading into the regular season.

The Chiefs officially waived Shane Buechele on Tuesday morning as part of their efforts to get down to the maximum 53 players allowed on the roster as of 4:00 p.m. at the league office (E.T.). Buechele was the only other quarterback option on the roster after the team cut Anthony Gordon earlier in August, leaving the team with two signal callers for Week 1.

Last season, the Chiefs went with only Patrick Mahomes and Chad Henne heading into the regular season but kept options on the practice squad in veteran Matt Moore as well as developmental quarterback Jordan Ta’amu.

The KC Chiefs are going two-deep at quarterback once again in 2021.

This year, the Chiefs don’t have any veterans on the practice squad as of yet and none has been floating around in training camp either, leading us to believe that Buechele might serve as the lone parachute, so to speak, at hand. The Chiefs could conceivably bring back Gordon. Moore also remains a free agent.

In 2019, the Chiefs rolled three-deep at quarterback in the Andy Reid era to start the year, although injuries might have kept the Chiefs from going so minimal at the position in 2019 since Henne was hurt (ankle). They were back to only two in 2018—the norm for Mahomes’ career as a starter.

With Alex Smith under center, the Chiefs often had three quarterbacks, a sign that perhaps it’s a John Dorsey vs. Brett Veach sort of decision to go with a specific number of quarterbacks. Back then, the depth chart would read Smith up top followed by a veteran of some kind (e.g. Nick Foles, Chase Daniel) and then a developmental arm (e.g. Tyler Bray).

Expect the Chiefs to bring back Buechele on the practice squad if he clears waivers.