Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Chiefs' Gardner Minshew tears ACL against Titans, set to join Patrick Mahomes on IR

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Dec 21, 2025 5:27 PM ET

The Kansas City Chiefs are losing quarterbacks left and right as their season winds down.

One week after Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL, quarterback Gardner Minshew suffered the same injury in Sunday’s loss to the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn. Minshew went down on the third play of the game and grabbed his knee, and was eventually ruled out for the remainder of the game.

After the loss, multiple reports indicated that the Chiefs believe Minshew tore his ACL.

The #Chiefs do believe that Gardner Minshew also tore his ACL, source confirmed. He’ll have an MRI to confirm. https://t.co/YtDMamASLa
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 21, 2025

Losing one quarterback to an ACL tear in a season is terrible luck. Losing two in two consecutive weeks is more or less unprecedented, and in many ways, it sums up how the entire Chiefs’ season has gone.

Former seventh-round pick Chris Oladokun replaced Minshew for the remainder of the game. The Chiefs’ third-string quarterback had never thrown a pass at the NFL level until he came in on Sunday. He unsurprisingly struggled, going 11/16 for 111 yards without any touchdowns or interceptions.

Minshew had been Mahomes’ backup all season, and was expected to play out the remainder of the year. He barely even got the chance, meaning Oladokun is likely to get some unexpected reps for the Chiefs in their last two games.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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