While they’ve certainly faced adversity in the Patrick Mahomes era, this might have been the toughest challenge for the Kansas City Chiefs over the last eight seasons. Missing the playoffs and their franchise quarterback tearing his ACL was about as bad as it could get.
Now, the offseason has given them a critical chance to make key changes to the roster to best support Mahomes. One key area, as he continues his rehab process, is finding the right backup quarterback. And it looks like head coach Andy Reid believes they’ve found that guy.
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Last season, the injury to Mahomes may have slammed the door shut on the Chiefs’ playoff hopes, but things weren’t too bright beforehand either. The team was struggling as a whole, with the offense struggling and the defense failing to get the other side off the field.
As a result, general manager Brett Veach has been bold with his decisions this offseason. Parting ways with Trent McDuffie for a king’s ransom was perhaps the biggest move, right alongside signing Kenneth Walker III. But their work isn’t complete yet.
The conservative timeline for their superstar quarterback to return would be near the Week 4–6 mark. Most estimates hope that he is suiting up for Kansas City in Week 1 itself. But the Chiefs needed a backup plan just in case.
As a result, they parted ways with a sixth-round pick to bring in Justin Fields. Even after his repeated struggles at the professional level for three different franchises, a legendary coach in Reid still believes in him. Talking to Judy Battista of the NFL Network, Reid made his optimism clear as day.
“Well, we snuck out and got a good quarterback to back him up. So, if he doesn’t, you know, if he’s not able to make it for the beginning of the season, then we know we’ve got a legitimate backup there that can go win games for us.”
Even though Reid seems to believe in the new quarterback on the roster, the tape isn’t going to do Fields a ton of favors. A disappointing stint with the Chicago Bears had the organization giving up on him after just three seasons.
The Pittsburgh Steelers only used him as a backup to Russell Wilson, and the New York Jets couldn’t do anything with him last year either. Playing in nine games, he totaled fewer than 150 passing yards per game and threw just seven touchdowns, ranking at No. 33 on PFSN’s QB Impact.
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By the end of the year, head coach Aaron Glenn had shifted to Brady Cook and Tyrod Taylor to stand under center. As a result, it is hard to imagine Fields being a productive starter for the Chiefs.
Yet, an offensive mastermind in Reid seems to believe in him. That should, at the very least, give the fan base some belief that all hope isn’t lost without Mahomes to start the season.
