The Kansas City Chiefs first entered the football scene in 1960 when they were known as the Dallas Texans and playing in the AFL. In 1963, the Texans moved to Kansas City and became known as the Kansas City Chiefs.
While the past decade has been kind to the Chiefs, it hasn't always been sunshine and sprinkles for this franchise and nothing tells that tale more than the quarterback position. Of course, Chiefs fans can now bask in the glory days of Patrick Mahomes but before Mahomes, the Chiefs had a hard time finding a true franchise quarterback who could lead them to bigger and brighter things.
Let's look back at every quarterback who's ever started a game for the Kansas City Chiefs. We'll go through each decade and list the starter, how long they were with the Chiefs, how many starts they had in that decade (and overall), and how many playoff starts they made that decade (and overall).
Chiefs starting quarterbacks from 1960 to 1969
Name (Time spent with Chiefs) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Chiefs) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Chiefs) |
|---|---|---|
Cotton Davidson (1960-1962) | 24 (24) | 0 (0) |
Hunter Enis (1960) | 2 (2) | 0 (0) |
Randy Duncan (1961) | 2 (2) | 0 (0) |
Len Dawson (1962-1975) | 101 (157) | 7 (8) |
Eddie Wilson (1962-1964) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Pete Beathard (1964-1967, 1973) | 2 (2) | 0 (0) |
Jacky Lee (1967-1969) | 2 (2) | 0 (0) |
Mike Livingston (1968-1979) | 6 (75) | 0 (0) |
In the Chiefs' first decade as a franchise, they had eight different players start at quarterback for them, including Cotton Davidson, the first quarterback in franchise history. Most of the names here would make people ask "Who is that?" but everyone will have heard of Len Dawson.
Dawson spent over a decade with the Chiefs and led them to two Super Bowl appearances and one Super Bowl victory. Before Mahomes came into the picture, Dawson was easily the best quarterback the team had ever had and while his passing yards record will finally be surpassed by Mahomes in 2024, the fact that it stood for as long as it did is pretty incredible.
Chiefs starting quarterbacks from 1970 to 1979
Name (Time spent with Chiefs) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Chiefs) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Chiefs) |
|---|---|---|
Len Dawson (1962-1975) | 56 (157) | 1 (8) |
Mike Livingston (1968-1979) | 69 (75) | 0 (0) |
Tony Adams (1975-1978) | 7 (7) | 0 (0) |
Steve Fuller (1979-1982) | 12 (31) | 0 (0) |
The Chiefs had just four starting quarterbacks in the 1970s and Mike Livingston actually had the most starts of the four. Dawson was nearing the end of his career and battling injuries while Livingston had spent the majority of his career as a backup in Kansas City. He started double-digit games in 1976, 1977, and 1978, which were the first years after Dawson had retired.
Chiefs starting quarterbacks from 1980 to 1989
Name (Time spent with Chiefs) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Chiefs) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Chiefs) |
|---|---|---|
Steve Fuller (1979-1982) | 19 (31) | 0 (0) |
Bill Kenney (1980-1988) | 77 (77) | 0 (0) |
Todd Blackledge (1983-1987) | 24 (24) | 1 (1) |
Frank Seurer (1986-1987) | 2 (2) | 0 (0) |
Matt Stevens (1987) | 2 (2) | 0 (0) |
Doug Hudson (1987) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Steve DeBerg (1988-1991) | 21 (52) | 0 (3) |
Ron Jaworski (1989) | 3 (3) | 0 (0) |
Steve Pelluer (1989-1990) | 3 (3) | 0 (0) |
The 1980s were a rough decade for the Chiefs. Gone were the days of the team being a Super Bowl contender and the organization was mostly a bottom feeder for most of the decade. That included having nine different players start at quarterback.
It's not like the Chiefs didn't try to get better at the position. They had spent a first-round pick on Steve Fuller in 1979 but when it was clear that he wasn't the answer, they tried again in 1983, drafting Todd Blackledge seventh overall. We all know how poor of a choice that ended up being.
Bill Kenney started the most games for Kansas City in the 80s with 77 starts under his belt. He was also the best quarterback the Chiefs had during the 1980s and it's a shame the team didn't win more games with him.
Chiefs starting quarterbacks from 1990 to 1999
Name (Time spent with Chiefs) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Chiefs) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Chiefs) |
|---|---|---|
Steve DeBerg (1988-1991) | 31 (52) | 3 (3) |
Mark Vlasic (1991) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Dave Krieg (1992-1993) | 21 (21) | 1 (1) |
Joe Montana (1993-1994) | 25 (25) | 4 (4) |
Steve Bono (1994-1996) | 31 (31) | 1 (1) |
Rich Gannon (1995-1998) | 19 (19) | 0 (0) |
Elvis Grbac (1997-2000) | 32 (47) | 1 (1) |
The 1990s were a much kinder decade for the Chiefs but the quarterback position was still a bit of an issue for them. Yes, the Chiefs were a playoff-caliber team most years but that was mostly thanks to their defense and not the signal-caller position.
The most notable names here are the last four on the list. Joe Montana chose to join the Chiefs when the 49ers decided they were going to move forward with Steve Young as their quarterback. Montana only spent two years in Kansas City but the 1993 season saw him lead them to the AFC Championship Game where they got walloped by Buffalo.
Steve Bono took the reins from there and was fine. After that, we get to the infamous Rich Gannon and Elvis Grbac debacle where Grbac was chosen to lead the offense over Gannon and then Gannon went to the Raiders and led them to a Super Bowl appearance.
Chiefs starting quarterbacks from 2000 to 2009
Name (Time spent with Chiefs) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Chiefs) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Chiefs) |
|---|---|---|
Elvis Grbac (1997-2000) | 15 (47) | 0 (1) |
Warren Moon (1999-2000) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Trent Green (2001-2006) | 88 (88) | 2 (2) |
Damon Huard (2006-2008) | 21 (21) | 0 (0) |
Brodie Croyle (2006-2010) | 9 (10) | 0 (0) |
Tyler Thigpen (2007-2009) | 11 (11) | 0 (0) |
Matt Cassel (2009-2012) | 15 (47) | 0 (1) |
Seven different quarterbacks started games for the Chiefs in the new millennium with Elvis Grbac kicking things off in the 2000 season. Some people might forget that Warren Moon played for the Chiefs and it wouldn't be hard to blame you if you did forget.
Trent Green started the majority of games for KC in the 00s with 88 starts under his belt and also two playoff starts on his resumé. Damon Huard filled in for Green during his injuries and then we also had Brodie Croyle, who never a won a single start in his NFL career.
Tyler Thigpen is usually a punchline among Chiefs fans but he didn't have much of a team surrounding him in that abysmal 2008 season. Matt Cassel was traded to the Chiefs in the final year of the decade and we'll continue discussing him in the next section.
Chiefs starting quarterbacks from 2010 to 2019
Name (Time spent with Chiefs) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Chiefs) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Chiefs) |
|---|---|---|
Matt Cassel (2009-2012) | 32 (47) | 1 (1) |
Brodie Croyle (2006-2010) | 1 (10) | 0 (0) |
Tyler Palko (2010-2011) | 4 (4) | 0 (0) |
Kyle Orton (2011) | 3 (3) | 0 (0) |
Brady Quinn (2012) | 8 (8) | 0 (0) |
Alex Smith (2013-2017) | 76 (76) | 5 (5) |
Chase Daniel (2013-2015) | 2 (2) | 0 (0) |
Nick Foles (2016) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Patrick Mahomes (2017-Present) | 31 (96) | 5 (18) |
Matt Moore (2019) | 2 (2) | 0 (0) |
Despite 10 different quarterbacks starting games for the Chiefs in the 2010s, things would soon get better for this franchise and fan base. It started off rough, however, as Chiefs fans had to watch the likes of Matt Cassel, Tyler Palko, and Brady Quinn in the first three years of the decade (though the 2010 season was fun at the time).
The Chiefs traded for Alex Smith in 2013 when Andy Reid came to town and say what you will about his inability to throw down field, he provided consistency and brought winning to the Chiefs organization. These were things that the team and fans were not used to at the time.
Smith started the most games of the decade with 76 starts. Chase Daniel, Nick Foles, and a guy named Patrick Mahomes were the only other quarterbacks to start games during Smith's tenure and two of those starts were due to the Chiefs already locking up a playoff spot.
Mahomes made his first start in the 2017 season finale, beating the Broncos for what would be the first of 12 straight wins against Denver. Mahomes became the Chiefs quarterback full-time in 2018 and missed two games in 2019 due to injury. Matt Moore started both of those games.
Chiefs starting quarterbacks from 2020 to Present
Name (Time spent with Chiefs) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Chiefs) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Chiefs) |
|---|---|---|
Patrick Mahomes (2017-Present) | 65 (96) | 13 (18) |
Chad Henne (2018-2022) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Blaine Gabbert (2023) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
The Chiefs have only had three quarterbacks start games for them in the 2020s. Mahomes has started all but two games this decade and both of those games saw the Chiefs already have their playoff spots locked up.
That led to Chad Henne starting a game at the end of the 2020 season and Blaine Gabbert starting the season finale of the 2023 season. Here's to hoping we don't see many names join this list this decade unless it's to start a pointless Week 18 game.