Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid said on Monday that he planned to rest some starters against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 17. We now have official confirmation on at least one player who will sit out.
On Wednesday, the team announced that backup QB Chad Henne will be the starter against the Chargers in Week 17.
“Chad (Henne) will go ahead and play, yeah,” Reid told reporters. “And there’s a good chance that Matt (Moore) is up, but we’ll see when it’s all said and done how that all works out.”
Henne, 35, has been the backup quarterback for Kansas City during the past three seasons. This will be Henne’s first game started since the 2014 NFL season, back when he was with the Jacksonville Jaguars. This year, Henne had an opportunity to play in Week 7 against the Denver Broncos and Week 8 against the New York Jets. He’s played 22 offensive snaps between those two games, totaling five completions on six attempts for 30 yards. He also rushed for a score against the Broncos in Week 7.
Henne spent most of the 2019 season on injured reserve, giving way to Matt Moore, who started two games in place of Mahomes that year. It appears that Moore could be called up from the practice squad this week to play backup to Henne.
Chad Henne will get the start this weekend against the Chargers. pic.twitter.com/zpjCFMVzzc
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) December 30, 2020
Henne getting the start in Week 17 means that Mahomes’ regular season is over. He’ll have finished the season with a career-best 390 completions for 4,740 yards, 38 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also added 62 carries for 308 yards and two touchdowns — a career-high in both carries and yards. Those will be the numbers that he’s judged on in this year’s MVP race, which has become increasingly close in the final weeks of the season.
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