The Kansas City Chiefs needed a backup quarterback and they got one, trading a sixth-round pick to the Jets in exchange for Justin Fields. This does not bode well for Chris Oladokun, who was slated to be the backup to Patrick Mahomes if a move was not made.
That's exactly why a move needed to be made though. Oladokun has been on the Chiefs' roster since 2022 but didn't see any real action in a game until this past season when both Mahomes and Gardner Minshew were injured. He appeared in three games with two starts and threw for 235 yards and a touchdown.
It's not that Oladokun was horrendous but he couldn't be the backup entering the season. He just couldn't be. That's why the Chiefs had to be aggressive in finding a backup quarterback, especially with Mahomes' injury and him potentially missing the start of the regular season.
Justin Fields trade sends Chris Oladokun back to a role he knows all too well
With the addition of Fields, Oladokun will now likely go back into a role that he's become familiar with during his stint in Kansas City. He'll compete with someone in preseason for the QB3 job (in this year's case, that looks to be Jake Haener) and end up as a practice squad player if he wins that job. The Chiefs don't typically carry three quarterbacks on their active roster so if Oladokun beats out Haener, he'll spend the season on the practice squad unless Mahomes or Fields are injured or have to miss time for another reason.
Fields had a rough go of it with the Jets last season but the hope is that A) The Chiefs don't have to play him except for in blowouts or B) If they do have to see him, that Andy Reid can work his quarterback magic on him. All in all, the move makes sense given what the rest of the backup quarterback market looked like.
Maybe this move pans out and maybe it doesn't, but it means that Oladokun goes back to his old role and that's probably for the best.