Ranking The Top 5 Backup Quarterback Options
22 repliesWith Super Bowl 57 now in the books, and Chad Henne officially retiring, it’s time for the Chiefs to start thinking about who will be holding the clipboard while watching Mahomes make highlight plays. Of course there’s always an option for a late round quarterback in the draft, or to stick with perennial 3rd stringer Shane Buechele who has looked good in preseason action but is untested in meaningful action. But today we’re going to just look at the free agency market and decide who’s best.
1) Gardner Minshew
Anybody who has ever frequented Arrowhead Guys site knows that I love Minshew. I have advocated for the Chiefs to bring him in as a backup ever since his strong showing in the 2019 season when he came in for Nick Foles week 1 against the Chiefs. The Eagles traded a 6th round pick for him in 2021, but now he’s a free agent and would be an absolute perfect fit for the backup role here.
As much as I like him as a player he’s obviously not a future Hall of Famer or anything. But if Mahomes goes down for part of a game, or if he misses a couple of games, Minshew has proven that he can play at a competent level even with substandard talent around him in Jacksonville, or even play well when given a shot with good talent in Philadelphia (his ANY/A+ of 112 in 2022 would be a career year for most quarterbacks if sustained over a full season).
2) Teddy Bridgewater
While I spend most of my time gushing over Minshew, I do really like Bridgewater a lot as well. The fact that he was the quarterback of the mediocre 2021 Broncos was a major reason why I was skeptical that they would be much better with Russell Wilson in 2022. In fact those Broncos were in playoff contention at 7-6 going into their week 15 game against the Bengals, a game Bridgewater had them competitive in before he got injured. It was after that injury that the Broncos lost that game, then lost every game the rest of the season to finish 7-10. Believe it or not he has a winning record as a starter in his career.
My two biggest concerns with him is that he did looks significantly worse than Tua in the same Dolphins offense last year in his brief action, and he also has been pretty injury prone himself, which would open the door to the Chiefs having to lean on a 3rd string quarterback. But on the whole he likely won’t be playing much and would be one of the best backups in the league.
3) Jacoby Brissett
A former Patriots 3rd stringer, Brissett has proven himself to be an effective backup when given opportunities to play. Last year he was the Browns starter as they waited for Deshaun Watson’s embarrassingly short suspension to end, and when Brissett was eventually benched for the sexual predator the Browns offense actually got worse.
I really like these same team comparisons, since they give you as close to an apples-to-apples comparison as you’re going to get. And when you have a player like Brissett performing so much better than a guy like Watson on the same exact team, that speaks volumes to his effectiveness. Fans would have a lot of confidence that he could step in and give the Chiefs a chance if Mahomes couldn’t go.
4) Taylor Heinicke
Heinicke is another quarterback I’ve always really liked, but I’m less alone on this one. He’s an exciting gunslinger, but without the physical tools to really make it work at a high level. Sort of a Tyler Thigpen type (if you don’t know who Thigpen is, ask your parents).
But unlike Thigpen, Heinicke has shown much more ability to lead teams to real, actual victories. In 2020 he gave the eventual Super Bowl champion Buccaneers everything they could handle in the Wildcard round, then followed it up by leading the 2021 Football Team to a solid 7-8 record. Then in 2022 he took over a 2-4 team and led them all the way back to playoff contention, going 5-3-1 before the Commanders foolishly benched him for Wentz who proceeded to lose to the Browns and knock them out of the playoffs.
The main issue I have with Heinicke is that he can be a bit erratic, which is the exact opposite of what you want in a backup. While he can go out and win a game, in a situation like the one Henne faced against the Browns, where Mahomes had built a lead and Henne just needed to maintain it, having a backup who is capable of turning the ball over and letting the other team back in the game isn’t what a team like the Chiefs are looking for.
5) Mike White
Mike White has played games for the Jets in two seasons after being drafted in the 5th round of the 2018 draft. In both seasons he came in for a struggling Zach Wilson and provided an immediate improvement at the position. This last season was the most noteworthy, as the Jets were a potential playoff team and after Wilson got benched for White there were numerous stories about how much happier the Jets players were with him leading the team. Those are definitely positive signs for a backup.
The downside is that he has a small sample size, only starting 6 games in his career. In he didn’t even play particularly well in those games, throwing 12 interceptions. It’s just that Wilson was somehow even worse. While he would be a solid choice, he isn’t as good as some of the other options that are available.
Shane Buechele!
If not him, I’d see someone like Mike White.
I agree on Bridgewater, it would be nice to have a backup who could stay healthy if needed to play. It would be interesting to see what Andy and company could make of someone like Minshew, Brissett, or Heinicke. They are the type of players that I think Andy, Nagy, and the offensive staff could coach up so that they could become trade bait. I don’t know much about White either way, so that’s why I left him out. Of the three, I think Brissett might be the best and most interesting fit.
Nice write up!
Other than Buechele, Gardner Minshew would be the only consideration and he may want more. Probably feels like he’s a starter.
just saying the Chiefs can get Stetson Bennett with a 5th round pick
a hat?
Give me Teddy or Jacoby for the right price
Not sure the price will be right though
Giants QB – daniel jones looking for $45 million, a YEAR!!
16 TD’s = $45 million
Don’t Do It Giants!!
Franchise tag.
Done.
They’ll still have 4 or so qbs for camp. can’t remember the exact number they usually have.
No, no, no.
Well, ok to Gardner.
Shane is the man, though. If Mahomes can’t cut it again, I think he’s a decent replacement. Hope he can compete for the starting job.
/S
If Buechele isn’t up to the task bring in Uncle Rico!
Shane Buechele – Chiefs kept him on roster all year. I’m NEVER a fan of keeping (3) QB on the roster = waste of a spot. But…..in this case.
.
Chiefs kept Shane Buechele, so Chiefs staff must know something, we don’t about Shane Buechele.
Matt Moore would like a word with you.
So would the 49ers
lol – matt moore
That seems to be the most likely option. As much as I dream of Minshew, Buechele is a good option since he’s so much cheaper and has been in the system a while.
this this this this AND this
so much $$$ going into FA’s and re-signing whoever the team does re-sign there’s not much leftover for a “high quality backup QB” (unless it’s Bert, but that’s another story)
for realz: if Shane is “the guy” I’m like totally down with that (after all, Reid and the other Chiefs coaches do happen to know a bit more about it all than I do) … 2 yrs in the system (this summer’s training camp will begin yr 3 for him I think) he should have a clue by now, one would imagine
100% less expensive option with more football UPSIDE
I’d be fine with Minshew, Brissett or Heinicke
Taylor does just enough for you to lose. If he can’t keep the starting job in DC, not show I want him here