The Kansas City Chiefs will use Justin Fields in camp as Patrick Mahomes continues to rehab from his knee injury.
The Kansas City Chiefs don’t know if new backup quarterback Justin Fields will be starting games, and Fields is also flying blind when it comes to the possibility. But Fields said he’s excited about what he called ““a new start, the tradition here, the culture here” in a report from Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk via Nate Taylor of ESPN.
The chance to learn from quarterback Patrick Mahomes and coach Andy Reid is part of that excitement, but Fields also knows this is one of the last stops on the train when it comes to getting a chance to start. He’s failed with three teams now, and that’s a tough trifecta to overcome, so he’s trying to focus on what the Chiefs did best before the second half of last season.
“Just the winning, to be honest,” Fields said when he talked about working with Mahomes. “We of course knew of each other, but we really didn’t communicate before coming here. I’m excited to learn from [Mahomes].
“I’m already kind of picking his brain a little bit and just observing how he goes about things in the meeting rooms, field and stuff like that. I’m excited, of course, to work with Coach Reid and [offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy] and all the guys on offense.”
The big question for Fields going forward is what kind of offense he’ll be running, exactly. The Chiefs are a team in transition on that side of the ball after adding running back Kenneth Walker III to carry a heavier load on the ground, and Reid has talked up Fields as more than a “gadget player” in advance of the quarterback’s first training camp in Kansas City. There is a remote possibility Reid could turn Fields into a real NFL quarterback, but it's an uphill climb at best given what we've seen to date.
Most of this depends on how Mahomes’ rehab continues to unfold. Reid’s latest update including the quarterback adding lifting to his rehab regimen, but we still have no idea where the Chiefs quarterback is in his process beyond vague videos showing throwing clips and the like.
One thing to watch for during and after the draft is the possibility of the Chiefs drafting a late-round quarterback or signing an undrafted free agent to soak up some camp throws and possibly compete with Chris Oladokun, who struggled with turnovers down the stretch. Most of the fireworks will come tomorrow night, but the quarterback lineup will matter more when the Chiefs hit the field this summer.