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Backup quarterbacks are often unheralded, but they can sometimes make or break a team’s season. Coming off their fifth Super Bowl appearance in the last six years, the Kansas City Chiefs signed veteran quarterback Gardner Minshew II in free agency to back up Patrick Mahomes in 2025, a move that some viewed as a savvy decision.
The Chiefs inked Minshew to a one-year, $1.2 million deal, which was graded as their “best value” move of the offseason by ESPN’s Seth Walder. The writer saw the move as a steal, considering Minshew raked in $15 million in 2024 to start for the Las Vegas Raiders.
“Perhaps the Chiefs’ best value move was signing [Gardner] Minshew to a one-year, $1.2 million contract,” Walder said. “Considering how valuable a backup quarterback can be, getting Minshew — who earned $15 million last season with the Raiders — at that contract was a total bargain.”
Fans might recall Minshew catching lightning in a bottle early in his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars and briefly taking the league by storm. However, he has since become a premier backup quarterback who continues to flirt with starting opportunities. Now on his fourth team in as many years, Minshew has started the majority of the last two seasons before returning to a backup role behind Mahomes.
Minshew threw for 2,013 yards, nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 10 games with the Raiders in 2024. He initially won the preseason quarterback battle over Aidan O’Connell due to his leadership and ability to take care of the ball. Turnovers were ironically his biggest issue all season before injuries forced O’Connell back under center. The Raiders traded for Geno Smith in the offseason, effectively ending Minshew’s tenure after just one year.
While the Chiefs won 15 games in the 2024 regular season, the most in franchise history, Mahomes did not have his best individual season. He threw for just 3,928 yards — his fewest since taking over as the full-time starter — and 26 touchdowns, his fewest since the 2019 season.
Mahomes’ biggest issue was his surrounding talent, as he lost wideouts Rashee Rice and Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown early in the season. Both are on track to return in 2025, giving the two-time MVP his most surrounding talent in years.
The Chiefs also operated without much of a run game for most of 2024. Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt both struggled in space, resulting in their combined performance posting the lowest explosive run rate in the league. While both return in 2025, Kansas City added former San Francisco 49ers standout Elijah Mitchell to the group. Pacheco additionally believes he can return to his prime form with injuries fully behind him.
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