Chad Henne vs. Shane Buechele: The battle for Chiefs backup QB

After the Kansas City Chiefs preseason loss to the Chicago Bears, one of the more underrated storylines to come out of the game was the fact that Chad Henne played the same amount of series as Patrick Mahomes. Each of the two veterans was pulled after a single series and young guns Shane Buechele and Dustin Crum led the way from the second quarter on.

What do Buechele and Crum playing the majority of the game actually mean, particularly when it even meant sitting backup Chad Henne? It could mean a lot of things, like the Chiefs have already decided Henne is a stone-cold lock to make the team and doesn’t want to unnecessarily expose him to a potential injury. Particularly relating to Buechele, it could also mean that the Chiefs don’t view the QB2 slot as set in stone as some would believe.

If it were a traditional competition, why wouldn’t Henne have played more on Saturday? The simplest explanation is that the Chiefs already know what they have in Henne. He is entering his 15th season in the NFL, including his fifth in Kansas City, so there’s no secret about what type of player he is. The Chiefs initially brought him in 2018 to mentor the then-young Mahomes and he was also not a threat in any way to outplay him in the preseason, thus not creating a potential debate about whether Mahomes was really the guy. Of course, that is silly today but almost no one knew four years ago how great Mahomes would truly be and how fast he would climb to the top of the NFL’s Quarterback Mountain. Henne was also a reliable option to play in a pinch due to his time with the Dolphins and Jaguars, where he started over 50 games between 2009 and 2014.

Shane Buechele and Chad Henne are in a competition to be Patrick Mahomes’ backup. Which one will come out on top and will both make the final roster?

This year, the Chiefs felt no reason to play Henne in the preseason because they know what he brings to the team and they are comfortable with what they believe he is. They gave the majority of snaps to Shane Buechele because he is only 24 and has more potential to showcase. In my opinion, at this point, Buechele does have a higher ceiling as an overall player than Henne and he also has a lot more room to grow. Despite the potential, Buechele is also much more unproven than the 15-year veteran and potential does not mean that he is a better player today.

Buechele had a solid outing in Chicago but did not play well enough to threaten Henne for the QB2 job. He’s young but that doesn’t mean that he’ll ever grow into a dependable quarterback. Henne may not be an elite player but he is predictable in terms of what type of performance he will give when called into action. The Chiefs do not have that with Buechele.

One elephant in the room is that Henne is 37 and likely has just a few seasons, at most, left in the NFL. He will not be around forever and it makes sense for the Chiefs to bring in young quarterbacks to see if they have what it takes to backup the best quarterback in the NFL.

The Chiefs are wise to take flyers on young quarterbacks with talent, like Buechele and Dustin Crum. There are primarily two ways that teams can approach the backup quarterback position. Certain teams prefer to have established veterans since they can both mentor young starting passers and be fairly predictable in their performance, among other reasons. The Chiefs followed this path when they brought in Henne to back up Mahomes prior to the 2018 season. 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.

Kansas City is also shopping for a potential long-term backup quarterback that is cost-effective. In 2022, Chad Henne’s cap hit is $2 million, while Shane Buechele’s cap number is just $825,000. One advantage that Buechele has over Henne is a slightly lower minimum salary for the next several seasons. Due to Henne’s service time, per the NFL CBA signed in 2020, Buechele’s minimum salary will be $150,000+ less per season for the next several years until he hits seven years in the NFL, in which it’s unlikely he is still in Kansas City at that point.

Henne is win-now choice

The Chiefs are aiming for a successful Super Bowl run this year. Kansas City needs to shape its final roster with the idea of building the best possible team this season and not focusing on 2023 and beyond. If they believe that having a veteran behind Mahomes to help him in some stressful moments on the sideline or to come in and steady the ship temporarily, then Henne is the right man for the job. If they want a player who more accurately resembles the superstar quarterback so they do not have to drastically alter the offense in instances where Mahomes cannot play, then Shane Buechele may be the more wise choice.

In my opinion, I think Henne is the guy to be Mahomes’ number two this season, as I don’t think that Buechele has performed well enough to prove that he can be a reliable backup. That doesn’t mean that Buechele will never be that guy, but he isn’t today and the Chiefs need to build their team to give them the best opportunity to win it all this season. However, I do think Shane Buechele has a chance to take over the backup quarterback position in the future Hopefully, he can develop into a player the Chiefs can rely upon in an emergency but Henne is the more dependable player in 2022.

Who makes the active roster?

Will both make the final roster later this month? It’s extremely hard to tell. Mahomes (of course) and Henne are safe but do they feel strongly enough about Buechele to use an invaluable roster spot on him? I would definitely say it’s on the table as the Chiefs promoted him to the active roster from the practice squad last November, despite no injuries to either Mahomes or Henne, to protect him from being picked up by the Arizona Cardinals. The Chiefs almost never dress three quarterbacks so carrying three quarterbacks in the regular season and scratching one every week likely signals that they’re serious about potentially keeping Buechele around long-term.

Is the long-term backup quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs on the roster today? Probably not, but they have been evaluating their options with a young player like Buechele. It’s highly likely the Chiefs will move on to a new backup every couple of years but maybe they find someone they love and they keep him around long-term. Chad Henne is the best man for the job today but there will likely be a different answer at this point next year and that solution may be Shane Buechele.