Gardner Minshew injury update: Chiefs QB exits game in first start since Patrick Mahomes ACL tear

Kansas City Chiefs QB Gardner Minshew went to the locker room during Sunday’s game vs. the Tennessee Titans with a knee injury. He is questionable to return.

With injuries stacking up at the position, Chris Oladokun is the team’s backup. Star QB Patrick Mahomes underwent surgery to repair a tear in his ACL after getting hurt last weekend. Of course, he’s been shut down for the rest of the season.

Minshew left the game early in the second quarter after completing 3-8 passing attempts for 15 yards. He was the QB to come in for the injured Mahomes under last weekend’s 16-13 loss vs. the Los Angeles Chargers. Minshew finished that matchup 3-5 passing for 22 yards and an interception.

For Oladokun, he’s in his fourth season with the Kansas City Chiefs. However, he entered the NFL as a seventh-round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2022 NFL Draft. He was released before his rookie season, and was signed to the Chiefs’ practice squad in 2022 and has stayed put ever since, seeing the franchise win two Super Bowls over that span.

Oladokun had quite the journey in his college career. Spanning five years, he played two years at USF before transferring to Samford for the next two. He transferred to South Dakota State in 2021 for his final year of eligibility, where he put up career numbers. Oladokun threw for 3,164 yards, 25 touchdowns and seven touchdowns before moving on the NFL.

Kansas City’s quarterback conundrum was brought about after Mahomes tore his ACL last weekend against the Chargers. He underwent successful surgery the following Monday to repair a tear in his left ACL, which the team announced. The surgery was performed by Dr. Dan Cooper in Dallas with Mahomes expected to begin his rehab process immediately.

The injury occurred Sunday afternoon with just two minutes remaining in a Week 15 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers. Of course, the QB will not return this season, but it’s still within the realm of possibilities that Mahomes could be back early next season.

Mahomes, for the most part, has looked solid this season, but he has not looked like what fans saw in 2022 when he won his second MVP. Entering Sunday’s game, Mahomes has completed 63.1% of his passes for 3,398 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions with a 91.2 passer rating.

One week later, and the Chiefs are on their third quarterback. With two games left in the regular season after Sunday, it remains to be seen what Kansas City will do under center moving forward.