For the second week in a row, the Kansas City Chiefs have lost a quarterback to a serious knee injury.
After the Chiefs’ first possession in Sunday’s eventual 26-9 loss to the Tennessee Titans went three-and-out, quarterback Gardner Minshew was observed getting medical attention on the sideline. Trainers were looking at his knee. Minshew was playing in relief of superstar starting quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who tore his ACL and LCL in Week 15’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
Minshew returned to the field for the Chiefs’ next four possessions, including a safety early in the second quarter that gave the Titans a 2-0 lead. Reserve quarterback Chris Oladokun, however, came on for the Chiefs’ next drive, and Minshew did not return.
Per Matt Derrick of Chiefs Digest and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Chiefs believe Minshew suffered a torn ACL only a week after Kansas City lost Mahomes to the same injury. The diagnosis is pending further testing.
Speaking after the game, head coach Andy Reid simply explained that Minshew had a knee injury and would undergo an MRI. Fortunately for the Chiefs, with Week 17’s contest against the Denver Broncos only four days away, Reid did not report any additional injuries.
“Gardner hurt his left knee,” said the coach. “We don’t have any results for you. We’ll get that when he has a chance to get an MRI.”
In relief, Oladokun threw for 111 yards on 11 completions while being sacked four times. Reid thought the team’s longtime practice squad passer put in a good showing.
“I thought he did okay,” he remarked. “He was able to get us moving a little bit. I probably could have given him better stuff to work with — in particular, get him some more reps during the week. He didn’t have any reps to lean on. But I thought for what he was asked to do, he did a nice job.”
The Chiefs activated Oladokun from the practice squad on Saturday in the wake of Mahomes’ injury. With Minshew now hurt, the 241st selection of the 2022 NFL Draft is currently the only healthy quarterback on any version of Kansas City’s roster.
Reid will likely be focused on getting Oladokun ready for a likely start in prime time on a short week, deferring any potential additions at the position to general manager Brett Veach. One possible candidate could be Bailey Zappe, who was in training camp with the Chiefs last summer. He could be poached from the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad.
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