Excitement is in the air, as the NFL preseason kicks off for 30 of 32 NFL teams this Thursday. The Kansas City Chiefs open preseason at 7 pm on Saturday in Glendale against the Arizona Cardinals. Per tradition, Kansas City will play the starters at least for the opening drive and potentially the entire first quarter.
This will allow Chiefs Kingdom the chance to get excited for what the offense may be able to do in the regular season. With what seems to be an improved offensive line, Patrick Mahomes should be able to stretch the field with deep balls again.
That said, one former Chiefs quarterback surprisingly remains without a job heading into the start of the preseason. Veteran signal-caller and Kansas City's backup in 2024, Carson Wentz, is still on the open market.
Former Chiefs QB Carson Wentz Remains Jobless
Heading into free agency this offseason, the 32-year-old believed he was still good enough to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. Despite that belief, Wentz only received interest from one team for a potential starting opportunity, the Cleveland Browns.
Unfortunately for Wentz, Cleveland went in a different direction and re-signed Joe Flacco. However, the 32-year-old did have another chance to get picked up by the Browns on Monday when they added a fifth QB to their depth chart due to Kenny Pickett's injury. Instead of adding Wentz, though, Cleveland signed Tyler Huntley.
The Browns' move away from Wentz is the least bit surprising to any Chiefs fan. Last year, Wentz made three appearances for the Chiefs. In those three games, he completed 63.1% of his passes (12/19) for 118 yards.
The most extensive playing time the 32-year-old saw was in Week 18 while Mahomes and the starters rested. In that outing, Wentz went 10/17 for 90 yards. While he wasn't asked to do much in his start, he still didn't look great, which is why Kansas City moved on from him this offseason.
Nevertheless, another quarterback or two are bound to get injured before the season starts, given the nature of the NFL. Therefore, if Wentz is looking to stay in the NFL, the opportunity will be there.