Kansas City Chiefs sign Chad Henne as their backup quarterback
The Kansas City Chiefs have their backup quarterback and it’s longtime Jacksonville Jaguar Chad Henne. Henne will sit behind Patrick Mahomes on the depth chart.
The backup quarterback position is no longer a position of need, as the Kansas City Chiefs have brought in Chad Henne to be the number two guy and mentor Patrick Mahomes. Henne has spent the last five years as the backup in Jacksonville and hasn’t started a game since 2014.
In other words, he’s the perfect option for the KC Chiefs when it comes to their backup quarterback position. It wouldn’t have been a good idea to have someone younger (like Teddy Bridgewater or DeShone Kizer) back up Mahomes because as soon as he were to struggle, fans would be calling for the other young guy to start.
That won’t be the case with Henne. He’s the definition of a career backup, serving as that role for the last three years. The last time he saw significant starting time was because Blake Bortles was a rookie and needed more time to learn before being thrown to the wolves.
Chiefs are signing QB Chad Henne to a two-year deal, source says. He'll back up and mentor Patrick Mahomes.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 16, 2018
With Henne on the roster, the Chiefs can now opt to draft a quarterback later on and have that player as their third stringer. There were reports that the team was interested in retaining Tyler Bray for whatever reason, but he ended up going to the Bears. Phew!
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While Henne wasn’t on a lot of Chiefs fans’ wish lists, he’s better than many other options out there. He’s 32 years old (and will turn 33 in July) and does have experience in the NFL. He’ll make for a good veteran option behind Mahomes.
The Chiefs have benefitted from having good backup options the last several years and while Henne isn’t in the same category as those players, he’d be helpful if needed to step in for a game or two. Anything more than that probably means the Chiefs aren’t going anywhere anyway.
Backup quarterbacks have become a very important role over the last few years (just look at Chase Daniel‘s career earnings) and the Chiefs have made sure to address it with some of the best options out there. Chad Henne is a nine-year NFL veteran who can come in and play for a few games if called upon.
When Henne started the 2014 season opener, he went 24 of 43 for 266 yards and two touchdowns. The talent is there, but hopefully the Chiefs won’t ever have to see Henne in a meaningful situation… unless it’s a season finale in which they’ve already clinched a playoff spot.