Patrick Mahomes is clearly the Kansas City Chiefs’ franchise quarterback. Heck, he is the franchise. But even the greatest quarterbacks need a backup.
Aside from ensuring Mahomes gets paid handsomely, general manager Brett Veach has had the luxury of avoiding making investments into the QB position over the past few years, opting for Matt Moore, Chad Henne, and Blaine Gabbert instead. This plan has yet to backfire.
Yet, the Chiefs also haven’t hesitated to make contingency plans in the past either, such as when they drafted Mahomes 10th overall back in 2017. Again, that plan didn’t backfire.
But now that Gabbert is set for free agency again, now the Chiefs have to address their QB position in some form. You don’t expect the depth chart to go from Mahomes to Chris Oladokun and Ian Book when the 2024 season opens, right? Exactly.
One potential solution could be to keep a close eye on the developing trade market for Justin Fields. Expectations were that trade interest would heat up during the NFL Combine. Now that that’s in the rearview mirror, what are the Bears waiting for? Wait too long, and they’ll lose suitors after other teams address their needs elsewhere. Yet it’s possible teams are keeping Fields as a Plan B if their original plan fails.
Then, there’s always the possibility that a strong market never develops for a player that even the Bears are ready to move on from. If so, the Chiefs could emerge as the perfect fit, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
“Two connections that are at least interesting to me on the Justin Fields front. One is former Chicago Bears GM Ryan Pace, who drafted Fields and is now with the Atlanta Falcons (where I’ve heard the owner also likes Fields). The other is former Bears coach Matt Nagy with the Kansas City Chiefs. If the bottom falls out on Fields’s market, would the Chiefs take him as a backup that they could, perhaps, develop? Andy Reid has always liked such projects at quarterback.”
SI’s Albert Breer on Kansas City Chiefs’ connection to Justin Fields
The Matt Nagy connection is fascinating. After all, Fields was the QB the Bears selected in Nagy’s final season with the team, meaning the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator is or at least was likely a big fan of the former Ohio State star’s game. Once Nagy got fired, Fields may have lost one of his biggest supporters in Chicago, if so, he’d likely welcome a chance to reunite, even if it means playing the role of backup for a season.
See where Justin Fields lands in Sportsnaut’s NFL QB Rankings