Chiefs in crisis as Patrick Mahomes’ QB replacement leaves game with injury… as little-known THIRD choice steps in
The Kansas City Chiefs are freefalling into a quarterback crisis as they suffered yet another injury blow on Sunday.
Andy Reid had already suffered a massive setback last week when the Chiefs lost their Super Bowl-winning quarterback Patrick Mahomes to a season-ending double ligament tears in a desperate attempt to salvage their season during the dying seconds of their loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
Yet, just when Kansas City thought it had hit rock-bottom, the quarterback room hit a new low in Sunday’s clash against the Tennessee Titans.
Gardner Minshew stepped up as Mahomes’ replacement for the Week 16 matchup but was forced out in the midst of the second quarter.
He was later ruled out for the remainder of the game, which had marked his first start this season, forcing the Chiefs to turn to their third-string backup.
Chris Oladokun replaced Minshew on Kansas City’s fifth offensive possession, leading the team to a field goal.
Patrick Mahomes’ replacement Gardner Minshew was forced out of Sunday’s game with injury
However, Oladokun was a stranger to the majority of Kansas City with the signal caller spending the last few seasons bouncing back and forth from the team’s practice squad, offseason roster and, occasionally, its regular season roster.
Minshew’s last play came on a safety when Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons tackled Kareem Hunt in the end zone with 13:06 left in the second. Minshew finished 3 of 8 for 15 yards before his injury.
When the Chiefs got the ball back, Oladokun, just signed to the roster, took over.
Oladokun handed off on his first five plays. Oladokun wound up throwing away his first pass attempt before finally connecting with Travis Kelce on a 6-yard completion for his first in the NFL. The Chiefs settled for a 54-yard field goal by Harrison Butker for a 3-2 lead.
His only previous NFL regular-season game came January 5 backing up Carson Wentz for the Chiefs in a 38-0 blowout loss to Denver. Oladokun ran once for 5 yards, was sacked once and had a fumble in that loss.
He started at South Florida and also attended Samford and South Dakota State. Pittsburgh drafted Oladokun in 2022 with a seventh-round pick but didn’t make it past the regular season roster cutdown.
