If there’s one thing that’s become abundantly clear this season, it’s that playing quarterback in the AFC West is a dangerous way to make a living. The division is being redefined by damaging quarterback injuries, and the Kansas City Chiefs are an integral part of this process given the uncertain status of quarterback Patrick Mahomes as he rehabs from the ACL/LCL tear that ended his season.
The Chiefs now have company in the “damaged quarterback” category, however. The Denver Broncos lost quarterback Bo Nix last night to a broken ankle in Denver’s 33-30 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills, and given that Nix flew to Alabama to have immediate surgery, it means his status is up in the air for at least the next month or two.
A clean surgery would put Nix back on the field for Week 1 in September, but that’s by no means certain. That leaves the Los Angeles Chargers with the lone healthy quarterback in teh division, although quarterback Justin Herbert played through a broken left hand in the second half of the season, and his status will remain unclear as long as coach Jim Harbaugh continues to treat Herbert like a running back. (We won’t mention the Las Vegas Raiders in this conversation out of simple politeness.)
So what does this mean for the Chiefs? It obviously points to the importance of Mahomes’ rehab, and for a change in offensive approach that will compensate for his likely loss of mobility. Mahomes has already stated that he wants more new ideas from his next offensive coordinator, and Nix’s injury makes that shift even more important.
There’s another serious question that moves to the forefront, though—the importance of having a healthy backup. The Chiefs have consistently excelled in this important positional category, but they flunked the test completely with backup quarterback Gardner Minshew this year.
Minshew also tore his ACL during his brief appearance after Mahomes went down, but he was nowhere near ready even before the injury occurred. Minshew could barely get the team lined up and ready to go before the interception that effectively ended the Chiefs’ season against the Chargers.
The rest of what happened at quarterback for Kansas City is barely worth mentioning. Chris Oladokun played competently at first, then proceeded to justified his status as a journeyman third-stringer.
Regardless of what happens with Mahomes in September, the Chiefs need to do better when it comes to finding his new backup. Nix’s injury represents a potential opportunity for Kansas City, and the Chiefs need to be ready to capitalize on it going forward.