Chiefs’ Gardner Minshew Dinged in Latest Rankings

Minshew, who signed a one-year, $1.17 million contract with the Chiefs in March, is one of the league’s most colorful characters. And while he’ll surely serve as a stress outlet for Mahomes, apparently his body of work didn’t qualify him for PFN’s list.

A 6-1, 225-pound quarterback who grew up in Mississippi and played at Washington State under Mike Leach, Minshew has an extensive NFL résumé. Selected by Jacksonville in the sixth round of the 2019 draft, he started 12 Jaguars games as a rookie and has 46 starts in six NFL seasons. He owns an 88.5 career passer rating, with 68 touchdowns and 34 interceptions.

Friday's start at Seattle

Minshew started Friday’s preseason game at Seattle and led most of the Chiefs’ first-team players on two productive drives before bowing to Chris Oladokun. He finished 7 of 9 for 70 yards, including an impressive 1-yard touchdown pass to Robert Tonyan.

The quarterback drove Kansas City 60 yards in 10 plays to open the game before Seattle stopped Carson Steele for no gain at the Seahawks’ 15-yard line. The Chiefs lined up two tight ends on the play side, Noah Wiley and Tonyan, and moved Jaylon Moore over to the left side. Tonyan had to block two players at the point of attack, and Seattle safety Julian Love delivered a big hit to thwart Steele.

“Glad to be working with some of the ones,” Minshew said after Friday’s game, “just get my communication right, to be able to go out there and operate.

“You want to score every time you get out there. Frustrated to get stopped there, fourth-and-1 in the red zone. Great to get out there and get some points on the board.”

More than just a Mahomes insurance policy

Mahomes has missed only two games due to injury since becoming the Chiefs’ full-time starter in 2018. Minshew, meanwhile, has never played a season without at least two starts, and that starting experience is more than a Mahomes insurance policy. The Chiefs can use Minshew to scout personnel and opponent schemes.

All four of Minshew’s prior NFL teams are on Kansas City’s 2025 schedule, including the two most recent stops, Las Vegas and Indianapolis. And his offensive coordinator with the Eagles from 2021-22, Shane Steichen, is now the head coach in Indianapolis.

Those two seasons also were the only years in which Mahomes started every game on the Chiefs’ schedule (including meaningless season-finales when Andy Reid protected him for the playoffs).

Minshew’s NFL path has followed a long and winding route, similar to the offseason adventures he takes in his mobile home. But if the Chiefs have to break glass in case of emergency, they know Minshew will be ready.

Two of the backup quarterbacks on PFN’s list, Dart and No. 4 Daniel Jones (Indianapolis), may be starters in the near future. The Falcons, meanwhile, appear content with keeping the No. 1-ranked backup, Kirk Cousins, despite signing him to a four-year, $180 million deal before last season. Cousins lost his starting role to surprise first-round pick Michael Penix late last year.