The Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback depth chart has the football version of a VIP club: one name on the list, everyone else hoping to get past the velvet rope.
At the top, there’s Patrick Mahomes — the NFL’s best player, a two-time MVP, and the guy most likely to turn the “greatest of all time” argument into a closed case file.
Seven years as a starter, and the numbers are absurd: 4,911 passing yards and 37 touchdowns per season. Six Pro Bowls. Two All-Pro nods. Three Super Bowl rings. He’s already working on his Hall of Fame speech, and he’s not even 30.
Gardner Minshew Still Has to Convince the Chiefs
Behind him is where the plot gets messy. The No. 2 job is up for grabs, with Gardner Minshew and Bailey Zappe duking it out in the most under-the-radar quarterback battle in the league.
For Minshew, this is more than just a competition — it’s career survival. The 29-year-old is on his third team in three years, fifth in total, and NFL front offices don’t exactly love that kind of résumé for quarterbacks approaching 30.
This is his shot to convince Kansas City — and the rest of the league — that he’s still worth a roster spot.
He came into the NFL hot, a sixth-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019 who got thrown into the fire as a rookie and somehow came out looking like he belonged. The numbers were solid: 3,271 passing yards, 21 touchdowns, and a 6-6 record in 12 starts.
But the fairy tale didn’t stick. After two years in Jacksonville, he was shipped to Philly to finish his rookie contract. Then came one-year stops with the Colts in 2023 and the Raiders in 2024. Now, Kansas City in 2025.
The reason is he's been tagged with the “gunslinger” label — fun in short bursts but prone to mistakes. A 63.3 percent career completion rate and a 2-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio won’t kill your career, but it won’t win you a starting gig either.
Once a journeyman starts signing one-year deals, the writing’s usually on the wall. The league has seen the tape. They know what you can and can’t do.
Still, Minshew’s got a window here. His competition, Zappe — a 2019 fourth-rounder from New England — stumbled badly in the preseason opener, completing just 8 of 17 passes with two interceptions. Minshew looked sharper, even punching in a rushing touchdown against Arizona.
But the job isn’t locked up. Two preseason games remain, and Zappe will get his chances. Heck, if he struggles again, Chris Oladokun could even leapfrog him as QB 3.
For Minshew, it’s simple: keep the pedal down, win the backup job, and make enough noise to stick around in the NFL’s never-ending game of backup quarterback musical chairs. The music’s still playing — for now.