Chiefs' Andy Reid Scouts Gardner Minshew Performance as Patrick Mahomes' Backup

The Kansas City Chiefs' 20-17 preseason loss to the Arizona Cardinals was more about seeing a host of young and fringe players strut their stuff than it was about winning the game.

With Patrick Mahomes starting and only playing a handful of snaps as he found Jason Brownlee for a one-yard touchdown to begin the game, Patrick's day was done rather early.

As such, it was Gardner Minshew time, and the former Jacksonville Jaguars starter looked solid against the Cardinals, running Reid's offense well, and even managed to get a rushing touchdown to complete his work before he, like Mahomes, was forced to sit.

And for Reid, he gave his thoughts on Minshew's performance.

“I thought he did a nice job, managed it well," Reid said. "He had a couple of those where he had to come back, I thought his zero blitz shot was beautiful, he made big time play. I thought he had a solid day in there and got a score with his legs, and that was great."

Minshew will likely be Mahomes' backup for the 2025 season and against the Cardinals, he was efficient.

He completed six of his nine passes for 54 yards, while having four yards rushing and a touchdown, which was a wide-open run as he strolled into the endzone.

We aren't sure how much more of the preseason Minshew and others will play with Week 1 in mind for the Chiefs, but based on his efforts against Arizona, Kansas City might just have another solid backup quarterback.