KC Chiefs: Questions to address at quarterback position in 2020 offseason

Free agency is right around the corner and as a result, it’s time to go through each position for the KC Chiefs and discuss the questions surrounding said position. We’ll start with the quarterback position.

The Kansas City Chiefs are fortunate to have the best quarterback in the NFL. If a team has a franchise talent at the quarterback position, then more often than not, their team will be a Super Bowl contender every year.

When it comes to questions to answer this offseason at the quarterback spot, it’s not about who is QB1, QB2, etc. Everyone on the planet knows that Patrick Mahomes is going to be the starting quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs when the 2020 season kicks off.

The question for the Chiefs regarding Mahomes this offseason is all about his contract extension. What might the 2018 MVP and reigning Super Bowl MVP earn on his next contract?

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There’s been all kinds of chatter regarding the next deal Mahomes signs, but KC Kingdom’s own John McCarty broke it down for us a few weeks ago, predicting Mahomes could make somewhere around $44 million a year over the span of four years.

"What’s more, the $130 million in guarantees comes out to just at three years of the four year contract estimate. Regardless, that’s a lot of money. Due to recency, age and experience, I would imagine this number is the most likely to be accurate to what he’s worth at this point."

There’s a chance the Chiefs don’t extend Mahomes this offseason, as he does have one more year on his rookie deal. The new CBA will play a huge role in if Mahomes signs or not this offseason because waiting to sign until that new CBA is agreed upon would be a wise move for the Super Bowl MVP.

Mahomes deserves whatever his asking price is, but the worry is obviously that it will make it tougher to surround him with talent because the Chiefs will have a lot of money tied up to one guy. It’d be cool if he’d take a hometown discount, but nobody should truly expect him to do that.

The other question to answer at the quarterback position this spring is who will be backing up the reigning Super Bowl MVP.

Mahomes’ first year saw him as the backup signal caller, but in his first year as a starter, Chad Henne earned that honor. It was supposed to be Henne again this past season, but he was injured in preseason and the Chiefs signed Matt Moore as a result. Moore went on to start two games while Mahomes was out with an injury and he did well for himself. He might have done a good enough job that another team is willing to pay him decent money to be their backup quarterback.

The Chiefs also have Kyle Shurmur signed to a future’s deal, but it’s doubtful that he’s going to be the QB2 heading into 2020. It would be a very cheap option to have Shurmur fill that role and Mahomes clearly doesn’t need mentoring from his backup anymore, but having an established veteran behind MVPat proved vital last season, as the Chiefs didn’t completely flounder when Mahomes missed time.

Some names the Chiefs could consider at the backup position this offseason are obviously Moore and Henne again, but I’d also be fine with them potentially re-signing Chase Daniel, who last played for the Chiefs in 2015. Other “meh” names out there are Mike Glennon, Case Keenum, A.J. McCarron, Nick Mullens, Trevor Siemian, and Nate Sudfield, though none of these guys would have Chiefs fans jumping for joy.

The backup quarterback position is an important one, as we all saw this past season, and it’s important for the KC Chiefs to find the right guy to back up Mahomes in 2020. If another situation occurs like what we saw in 2019, this team needs to make sure it has a guy capable of stepping in and playing well for a few games.

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