Kansas City Chiefs should target Chase Daniel as backup quarterback

The Kansas City Chiefs’ 2017 campaign is over and they’re now looking ahead to the 2018 season. A huge need this offseason is a veteran backup quarterback and a good option is a guy who previously played in Kansas City.

With the ugly loss this past weekend in the Wild Card round, we all know what happens next. Alex Smith will be on his way to another team and Patrick Mahomes will officially be taking over as the Kansas City Chiefs starting quarterback.

With Mahomes no longer the backup and moving up on the depth chart, the Chiefs need to seek out a veteran starter who can step in if needed. My suggestion for that role is former Chiefs backup quarterback and star at the University of Missouri, Chase Daniel.

Daniel was the backup for the Chiefs from 2013-2015 and started two games during that time. While he went 1-1 as a starter, he honestly should have been 2-0. Daniel did what the Chiefs needed him to do in those two starts, which was to help the team as much as possible in Smith’s absence.

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I’m not suggesting that Mahomes will be bad in 2018, but this is more for injury purposes. If Mahomes goes down with an injury, there is no one on the depth chart capable of taking over. Tyler Bray should absolutely under no circumstances be re-signed this offseason, which means the Chiefs need to sign a reliable veteran (keyword there is reliable).

Daniel signed a one-year deal with the New Orleans Saints after things didn’t work out in Philadelphia, so he’ll be on the market this offseason. The last time the Chiefs signed him, they gave him a ton of money for a backup, which is something they won’t be able to do this time around.

Daniel might still feel that he’s able to start somewhere, but after a decade in the league and not getting to that point, perhaps he’d consider coming back to Kansas City to play for his old team. He went to college a few hours away and chose to come here in free agency before.

Daniel went back to New Orleans, a place where he spent the early part of his career and while he could re-sign there, it wouldn’t be shocking if the Saints drafted a quarterback to eventually take over for Drew Brees. That could be a deciding factor in Daniel not going back to the Big Easy.

I trust that Mahomes will be a great quarterback in 2018 and beyond, but we’ve seen just how detrimental a quarterback injury can be for a team. Signing someone like Chase Daniel would give the Kansas City Chiefs insurance should anything happen to Mahomes next season.

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