Chiefs Roster: Interest in QB Gardner Minshew began before 2019 Draft

The Kansas City Chiefs will have a new veteran backup quarterback for superstar Patrick Mahomes this season, after agreeing to terms with well-traveled veteran Gardner Minshew, who spent last season with the Las Vegas Raiders.

When Minshew met with local reporters on Thursday, he revealed that his pairing with the Chiefs has been a long time in the making. It goes back to a visit to Kansas City before the 2019 NFL Draft — when he first met head coach Andy Reid.

“From the end of our season — when I it seemed like I was going to get cut,” Minshew explained, “I knew in my head that this is where I wanted to be. I took a pre-draft visit with the Chiefs back in the day [before] coming into the league. I feel like everything went really well — just talking to Coach Reid and understanding what they’re all about. I always knew that [Kansas City would] be a really good fit.”

Minshew confirmed that this time around, Reid played a major role in recruiting him.

“To get on the phone with Coach Reid,” he remarked, “and get to hear what they’re talking about — and also to hear how he sees me fitting and how he values my personality and what I bring to the table? That just fires me up so much! To be somewhere that you feel appreciated and valued — obviously by somebody you respect so much and has had so much success doing it.”

In Minshew’s first career game in 2019 with the Jacksonville Jaguars (against the Chiefs, in fact), he entered the game as an injury replacement. Since collecting 275 passing yards and two touchdowns in his debut, he has started 46 games for four different organizations. While he understands his role in Kansas City will undoubtedly be a support role for superstar Patrick Mahomes, Minshew believes he can learn from both the head coach and the starting quarterback.

“I’m super fired up to be part of just a winning organization [and] winning culture,” he declared. “I feel like I have so much to learn from how Coach Reid and everybody operates — [and] how Pat operates — and I’m just looking forward to helping in any way I can. If there’s any way I can help this team — whether it’s on the scout team, whether it’s helping Pat in meetings, whether it’s just bringing good energy to practice — I look forward to just doing whatever I can to contribute and help this team win.”

Backup quarterback can mean different things to different teams with different situations surrounding their passer. Minshew is ready for all of it.

“I’ll tell you,” he noted, “being a starting quarterback in the NFL is a hard deal — especially with all the expectations [about] everything that gets put on a guy like that. [So] sometimes, it’s [about] having a safe place in the quarterback room where you can come and let off some steam or just have a good laugh. That little stuff is very important for getting through weeks — and getting through years.

“I look forward to just being able to work with him and help in any way I can — whether it’s on the practice field, in the meeting room [or] getting ready for game days. If there’s film preparation I can help with — or even providing a good laugh here or there — I just couldn’t be more grateful for the role.”

Although no one wants to see Minshew forced onto the field for the Chiefs, contingency plans matter. If he must play, Minshew believes the similarities between his college offenses at Washington State and Mahomes’ at Texas Tech will serve him well.

“That was another big reason I chose to come to Kansas City,” Minshew recalled. “I’ve always been a huge fan of Coach’s offenses. I’ve always felt that was something that I could do well in. I feel like Pat came up playing in the ‘Air Raid.’ It was something I did in college as well. I feel like that kind of play style — of just understanding and feeling space and understanding leverage in numbers — really serves you well in the system.”