The Kansas City Chiefs are in the midst of their final day of training camp practice at St Joe's. After this practice, Kansas City heads to Seattle to face the Seahawks in their second preseason game on Friday night. That said, during the early stages of Wednesday's practice, something interesting happened that fans should keep an eye on.
According to Pete Sweeney of ArrowheadPride, backup quarterback Gardner Minshew began practice with the first team and Patrick Mahomes began practice with the second team. This nugget of information would usually tell Chiefs fans a lot heading into the second preseason game.
Interesting start to Chiefs’ 10-10-10 practice: Gardner Minshew worked with first team, Patrick Mahomes with second team. Wonder if a shift in strategy on Game 2 playing time ahead.
— Pete Sweeney (@pgsween) August 13, 2025
Patrick Mahomes Begins Wednesday's Practice with 2nd Team
Typically, Mahomes taking reps with the second team instead of the first team could show they expect him to play longer than he did last week. Last week, Mahomes and the starting offense played one shortened drive that consisted of three plays and resulted in a touchdown. While that's a successful drive. Chiefs fans are itching to see more of the first-team offense.
However, Andy Reid confirmed that wasn't the case during his post-practice press conference. According to Sweeney, Reid said, "There’s a 'good chance' Patrick Mahomes does not play Friday night."
Although that doesn't completely rule out Mahomes for the second game, it heavily suggests he won't play. This is definitely unusual for Kansas City, who like to play its starters in the preseason. Still,
Minshew getting reps with the first team shows how much the coaching staff trusts him.
The 29-year-old was by far the Chiefs' best backup quarterback in the first preseason game. Minshew completed 66% (6/9) of his passes for 54 yards against the Arizona Cardinals.
His experience as both a starter and a backup in the NFL definitely helps. Though Kansas City was in a similar situation with Carson Wentz last year, Wentz just didn't seem to fit in quite as well. Minshew plays with an aggressive attitude, which Andy Reid loves.
Given the likelihood that Mahomes won't play on Friday, it will be interesting to see how much playing time Minshew gets. Seeing as he received first-team reps in practice, he may only play one drive like Mahomes did last week.
If that's the case, then it will be compelling to see who comes out of the game ahead in the QB3 battle.