The Kansas City Chiefs' shopping list could not have been long. In the situation laid before them, with only two games to go and in such a desperate fix, the choices on the shelf were both limited and obvious.
It's not surprising to see the Chiefs turning to Shane Buechele to help them through the final couple of weeks of the regular season. On Monday, Kansas City officially signed Buechele away from the Buffalo Bills practice squad, per ESPN reporter Adam Schefter, to help at a position that's in survival mode for the rest of 2025.
The Chiefs lost starting quarterback Patrick Mahomes to a torn ACL with two minutes to play in Week 15 loss to the L.A. Chargers. On Sunday, the Chiefs then watched Gardner Minshew also leave the field with a serious knee injury just a few plays into a Week 16 loss to the Tennessee Titans. In the span of a mere week, Chris Oladokun was thrust into a starting role after lingering on the practice squad for the previous four years.
Oladokun will be the starting quarterback for the Chiefs in Week 17 as they face the Denver Broncos on a special Christmas Day showdown on Netflix. On Sunday, the Chiefs' emergency quarterback was going to be tight end Noah Gray, if things came down to it. However, it would have been irresponsible for K.C. to move forward with that plan, even in a season that's already lost.
Shopping for a new quarterback wasn't so straightforward for the Chiefs in this instance, however. There's no runway in place for anyone unfamiliar with the coaches, players, and playbook to step in and handle things. The Chiefs play on a short week and then face the Las Vegas Raiders in the final matchup of the season. Bringing in a complete outsider made zero sense.
The Chiefs have brought back Shane Buechele to bolster a quarterback position that feels cursed this late in the season.
That reality narrowed the list of candidates considerably (maybe Bailey Zappe was another target?), which brings Buechele back to Arrowhead. Buechele was once a rookie free agent who signed with Kansas City back in 2021 after finishing his career at SMU. He was solid enough to remain on the roster for the next two years before being cut when active rosters were due in 2023. The Bills reached out and added him to their practice squad, and that's where Buechele has been ever since.
While some things have changed in that time, many who are already in the locker room will know Buechele. His presence also provides some security and continuity in case the position remains cursed even after losing Mahomes and Minshew. And it's quite possible that a successful stint back in K.C. could open doors for him to stick around into the 2026 campaign. After all, Mahomes faces a long rehab and Minshew is a free agent once again (who is also recovering from injury).
Despite being in the NFL, Buechele has never thrown a single pass in an NFL game. Oladokun could have said the same two days ago. Now the Chiefs are moving forward with both inexperienced quarterbacks in the hopes of seeing some sparks on offense in the final two games of the year.