Shane Buechele has up and down day in Chiefs preseason opener

Quarterback Shane Buechele played the majority of snaps for the Kansas City Chiefs in their preseason loss to the Bears and had both good and bad moments.

Second-year quarterback Shane Buechele played the plurality of snaps among Kansas City Chiefs quarterbacks in the preseason loss to the Chicago Bears before being replaced by rookie Dustin Crum halfway through the third quarter. He finished the day with 12 completions on 19 attempts for 99 yards plus 1 touchdown and 1 interception. He also took a sack for a 12-yard loss after Bears rookie pass rusher Dominique Robinson went practically untouched off the edge.

Buechele’s preseason performance could be significant for Kansas City since they clearly view him as a potential long-term backup option to Patrick Mahomes. Last November, the Chiefs promoted him to the active roster, despite no injuries to either Mahomes or Chad Henne, after the Arizona Cardinals reportedly attempted to sign him to their 53-man roster. This move signaled that the Chiefs had no interest in losing him for nothing if they were willing to sacrifice a valuable spot on their active roster to a third-string quarterback that has not dressed in a single regular season or playoff game in his career.

In this game against Chicago, Buechele had some flashes of potential with a nice ball to Skyy Moore on an out-route and a bullet to Justin Watson on this touchdown pass:

In addition to the positives, there were some plays that showed why the Chiefs may not view him as the QB2, like this interception on an ill-advised throw:

Buechele’s overall performance, although primarily against backups, was solid and I believe he played well enough to justify being the third option for the Chiefs at quarterback this season, especially with Crum’s shaky performance. The race is also far from over and it’s not off the table that the Chiefs go with Dustin Crum as the QB3 and Buechele is both cut and not even re-signed to the practice squad. It’s also possible that the Chiefs bring both of them to the practice squad.

The Chiefs are wise to take flyers on young quarterbacks with talent since there are primarily two ways that teams can approach the backup quarterback spot. Some teams prefer to have established veterans since they can both mentor young starting passers and will be fairly predictable in their performance, among other reasons. The Chiefs followed this path when they brought in Chad Henne to back up Patrick Mahomes. Other teams like to have their backup be somewhat similar to their starter in terms of play style so the overall offense does not have to change as much. The Ravens have chosen this path when it comes to backing up Lamar Jackson with players like Robert Griffin III and Tyler Huntley.

Another reason it is wise to take low-risk gambles on young quarterbacks is they can become valuable trade assets if they can establish themselves quickly and potentially turn a UDFA into a solid draft pick.

In conclusion, Buechele’s performance in Chicago was a little up and down. He had some moments that proved the Chiefs were clever to sign him last year but also some moments where he demonstrated that he still has a lot of room to grow. Maybe he turns into Chad Henne’s replacement but he could also become like most UDFA quarterbacks and is never heard from outside of the preseason. Which one will Shane Buechele become? Only time will tell and the Chiefs will use the final two preseason games to help make the determination.