This Kansas City Chiefs season has felt cursed for quite some time, but the latest unfortunate injury for the team cements such an idea. Just one week after watching star quarterback Patrick Mahomes go down with a serious knee injury, backup quarterback Gardner Minshew has suffered the same.
Per reporter Matt Derrick, Minshew has "likely" endured a torn ACL after leaving the game in Week 16 against the Tennessee Titans.
Minshew originally left the game in the first quarter after coming up limping in Nashville. From there, the Chiefs sent Chris Oladokun in as the third quarterback to run the offense while Minshew sought treatment from the team's training staff in the blue medical tent before heading to the locker room. Per the CBS broadcast, tight end Noah Gray would be the emergency quarterback for the Chiefs if something happened to Oladokun.
One week ago, in a loss to the L.A. Chargers at Arrowhead Stadium, the Chiefs lost Mahomes to a torn ACL in the game's final minutes. Now, Minshew has reportedly been dealt the same hand, making for a disastrous quarterback situation for the Chiefs.
The Kansas City Chiefs have to wonder if they're cursed with yet another long-term injury at quarterback, this time for Gardner Minshew.
The loss of Minshew was already a major short-term setback for the Chiefs despite the fact that the season was already lost. Minshew was only signed through 2025, but he was a likely candidate to return if Chiefs coaches liked what they saw from him as a starter in Weeks 16-18. Given that Mahomes' timetable to return could cost him starts in the '26 season, it made sense to look at Minshew's stint as the starter through an evaluatory lens for next year.
Minshew also gave the Chiefs a solid option under center to be able to develop other young players who will make a potential difference in 2026. Minshew has proven to be a solid spot starter, which is why they prioritized him as Mahomes' backup for '25, and the Chiefs could have continued to take a closer look at prospects with a veteran at the helm.
Now, however, such plans for the present and future are thrown into disarray. Minshew's own timetable now turns into a concern for him as he lacks job security for 2026. It's also a cloud over the Chiefs' plans going forward. General manager Brett Veach now has to bring an outsider (or two) in order to stabilize the position without knowing when Mahomes will be ready to go.
In the interim, the Chiefs can only hope Oladokun can stay healthy and somehow weather the challenges provided by games against the Denver Broncos on Christmas Day and the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 18. The Chiefs are also likely to sign someone to join the team in an emergency capacity for these final two weeks.
For the long haul, the Chiefs now have their two best quarterback options staring down long-term injuries with the hopes that both can make it back to the field. Minshew might not be long for Kansas City, but his knee injury is tragic all the same.