One of the more surprising picks in the Kansas City Chiefs’ 2026 draft class was late seventh-round pick Garrett Nussmeier. One of the more intriguing moves that fell under the radar in the offseason was trading for former top-15 draft pick Justin Fields in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick in 2027. Both players are quarterbacks.
This is notable because the 2026 offseason was the first one since 2017 in which the team invested any sort of draft capital in a quarterback, and it did so twice.
Previously, the Chiefs either signed their backup quarterbacks who made it to the regular-season active roster in free agency (Chad Henne, Matt Moore, Blaine Gabbert, Gardner Minshew, Bailey Zappe, and Chris Oladokun) or signed young players as undrafted free agents (Shane Buechele). In 2026, they invested two separate draft picks in the players behind Patrick Mahomes on the depth chart. That signals the team is serious about bolstering the depth of the quarterback position rather than just signing random players in free agency.
There was logic in that philosophy. Mahomes was in his 20s and not injury-prone, and the team didn’t want to use significant resources like draft picks and cap space on players who, ideally, would never play a meaningful snap for the Chiefs.
The fact that Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL and LCL in December 2025 may have been a sobering moment for the team. While the injury was fortunately not career-threatening, it served as a clear catalyst for change, leading to the atypical state of the current depth chart.
Is the Chiefs’ backup quarterback job really up for grabs?
The main question we’re discussing today is whether there’s any legitimacy to a backup quarterback battle this preseason.
That is a curious question because that’s never been a real thought in Kansas City over the last decade. We went into training camp every season with 95% certainty about who Patrick Mahomes’ QB2 was, and everyone else who logged any reps was just there to work with the third- or fourth-stringers and play the second half of meaningless preseason games before inevitably being waived at the end of every August. More often than not, the Chiefs only carried two quarterbacks heading into the regular season.
2026 is the first time in years that the backup quarterback role is actually up for grabs, or so we think…
Justin Fields undoubtedly entered training camp as QB2, with Garrett Nussmeier as QB3. In the first edition of the unofficial depth chart on August 12, that remained the case. That makes sense, as the Chiefs have invested more in Fields ($3 million cap hit and a sixth-round pick) than Nussmeier (a seventh-round pick and $915,000 cap hit, per Over the Cap), so the former clearly has more leeway than the rookie.
Garrett Nussmeier has outplayed Justin Fields so far
In the first preseason game, Nussmeier was clearly the better player. Yes, Fields had a higher passer rating, but Nussmeier was asked to make more difficult throws and had a beautiful deep ball dropped by Jason Brownlee in the second half, which, of course, would have aided his numbers.
In the second preseason game versus Tampa Bay, although thebox score numbersseemed to favor Fields, the eye test strongly favored Nussmeier. Fields was not throwing the football with any sort of confidence or strength, while Nussmeier navigated the pocket at a starting-caliber level.
There’s no way that Nussmeier (a talented young quarterback with four years left at basically no cap hit) will clear waivers and re-sign with the practice squad. Even if the Chiefs are lucky enough to sneak him back onto the practice squad, the odds of him being signed by another team are relatively high. At this point, it would be malpractice for the team to cut Nussmeier.
The Chiefs’ QB decision is more complicated than it looks
This leaves the Chiefs with several distinct paths: They can carry all three quarterbacks on the active roster, explore trade options for either Fields or Nussmeier, or waive one and risk losing him to another team for nothing.
It’s hard to say which option the team is leaning toward. Will Kansas City carry three quarterbacks since its starter is in his 30s and coming off a major knee injury? Will the Chiefs flip their rookie quarterback for an early Day 3 or late Day 2 draft pick? Will they convince another team to take on Fields’ remaining contract (one year, $3 million)?
We will probably have a better idea after the final preseason game versus Seattle, but the reality is that the decision to carry two or three quarterbacks may not even come down to the quarterbacks themselves. If the team is in love with enough players at another position, that might force it to move on from a quarterback. If there is no other position at which the team is really looking to carry an extra player, that might make it easier to carry all three quarterbacks.
Another option arises if Nussmeier continues to impress. What is Brett Veach going to do if his most recent seventh-round pick remains the best-performing quarterback on the field, but Andy Reid still prefers the perceived safety of a veteran backup? Veach must weigh the massive surplus value of a cheap, four-year rookie contract against the comfort of a veteran, potentially forcing a choice between long-term cost efficiency and the coaching staff’s preference.
It is also possible that the team has already made its decision, marking Justin Fields as the clear QB2. As ill-advised as that would be, the only lingering question would be whether the Chiefs will opt to keep Garrett Nussmeier on the 53-man roster.
While the team’s intentions will become clear soon, the investments made in both Fields and Nussmeier should have guaranteed a genuine competition. Should the competition finish relatively close, the case for the rookie remains stronger due to the “eye test” disparity and his cost-controlled contract through 2029. Ultimately, the Chiefs face a defining choice: They can prioritize Nussmeier's superior on-field performance and significant surplus value or lean into the perceived security of a veteran in Fields while leveraging the rookie's value for draft capital.
At this stage, it is clear that Nussmeier has been the better player, but whether that translates into him winning the backup quarterback job remains one of the preseason's most intriguing questions in Kansas City.
Add us as a preferred source on Google