Tag: QB

Expert panel says Chiefs have best future QB situation in NFL

A former NFL head coach, two former general managers and one current general manager were polled on the best quarterback situations in the NFL.

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With just six weeks left in the 2019 regular season, many are already looking at the teams around the league with an eye toward the future. Our friends over at Touchdown Wire recently pondered which of the 32 teams in the NFL have the best quarterback situation over the course of the next three to four years. To come up with rankings, they compiled a panel of experts (one former head coach, two former general managers and one current general manager) and asked them what they thought of each QB situation in the league.

The Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes ranked No. 1 with the best QB situation in the NFL. Here’s a look at what Touchdown Wire’s Pat Yasinskas and the experts had to say about the Chiefs and Mahomes:

The Chiefs currently have the best bargain in the league. Patrick Mahomes, last year’s MVP, is still on his rookie contract for one more year. In 2020, Mahomes will turn 25 and is scheduled to make just $735,000. But the Chiefs almost certainly will give him a long-term extension this offseason, and he could get a bump in pay to about $35 million a year. Is he worth it? “His mechanics make me shake my head sometimes. He throws across his body and back against the field a lot. But it works for him. He does things no one else can,” one of our panelists said. And it’s probably going to stay that way for at least the next decade.”

We all know that Mahomes is hypertalented and is going to get paid perhaps as early as this offseason. In his first season as a starter, he lit the league on fire with 5,000 passing yards and 50 touchdowns, walking away with an MVP award. Despite some injury trouble this season, he’s shown exciting growth.

The Chiefs’ QB situation of the future is certainly aided by the fact that Andy Reid can pull a QB out of retirement and coach him to a 1-1 record. So really, it doesn’t much matter who is behind Mahomes. Still, the future of the franchise is in his hands.

Future of Saints QB situation graded as too complicated to covet

The New Orleans Saints might have the NFL’s best quarterback situation in 2019, but free agency looms for Drew Brees and Teddy Bridgewater.

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The New Orleans Saints quarterbacks depth chart is one that should be the envy of the NFL. Drew Brees is a Hall of Fame-bound passer, sitting comfortably on top. Teddy Bridgewater proved his worth as a backup who can win games in this league. And Taysom Hill is a dynamic reserve who can fill in at almost any position, up to and including quarterback.

But according to our friends over at Touchdown Wire, that short-term strength comes with a price. All three of those quarterbacks are going to be free agents after this season, and the Saints have a tough decision to make on whether to keep Brees or Bridgewater. It’s possible they’re able to re-sign both of them, but Bridgewater will have earned far more opportunities — and much bigger contract demands — than what he was offered in the last signing cycle. And that potential instability ranks New Orleans’ outlook at the position low among the league; at No. 24, to be exact:

If this ranking pertained only to this season, the Saints might be No. 1. They have a future Hall of Famer in Drew Brees and, when he missed five games with a thumb injury, backup Teddy Bridgewater went 5-0. The Saints should have a deep playoff run this year. But, after that, things get cloudy in a hurry. Brees will turn 41 in January. He’s still going strong. It’s difficult to imagine the Saints choosing to keep Bridgewater as the starter over Brees because coach Sean Payton and Brees have such a close working relationship. It’s also difficult to imagine Bridgewater choosing to stay in New Orleans as a backup when he could likely get a starting job in free agency. Third-stringer Taysom Hill never will rise to the starting role. He’s a multipurpose threat and is used mostly on gimmick plays. Unless the Saints find a magical way to keep Bridgewater, it will be time to start looking for an eventual replacement for Brees. “Don’t be surprised if the Saints find a way to keep Bridgewater,” a panelist said. “(General manager Mickey) Loomis and Payton can be very charming. The smart move is to keep Teddy, even if he’s your backup for another year or two until Brees retires. They’ll be willing to throw good cash at him.”

To put a more optimistic spin on it: the Saints have at least two NFL quarterbacks in the building they can put faith in, and they’ll probably have their pick of them in the spring. Bridgewater will be able to command a starting quarterback’s salary in the range of $20 million or better per year, which is close to the decreased salary Brees agreed to accept the last time his contract ran out.

The Saints can afford to keep one of them, but they’ll be hard-pressed to recruit Bridgewater if Brees is determined to continue playing. At least Hill can return on a low-cost restricted free agent tender, at least for one more year.

Fortunately, the Saints have plenty of time to figure this situation out. Hopefully they’ll be able to do so with everyone crowded around the Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl LIV.

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Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes learning to trust his knee following injury

Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes was hit directly on his knee for the first time since injuring it.

In Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes’ second game back from a kneecap dislocation injury, nothing came easy.

Mahomes put up his lowest career single-game passing yardage as a professional but also set a new career-high for rushing yards in a single game. Following the game, one of the big questions is whether Mahomes’ health had an impact on the lack of offensive success. Andy Reid didn’t seem to think that his recent injuries were hampering him in any way.

“Yeah, listen, he’s been, I think he’s feeling better, physically feeling better,” Reid said of Mahomes. “He’s been kind of battling through the injury and I think starting kind of mid-week, I mean, he was going, ‘Man, I’m feeling better here,’ and I think that sure paid off.”

Mahomes said earlier in the week that it was the healthiest he’d felt since Week 1. Reid felt he started to really hit his stride by the middle of this practice week. Unfortunately, that didn’t exactly carry over into the game for the offense.

During the game, however, there was some concern that Mahomes might have tweaked his knee during one of his five carries. Luckily for the Chiefs and Mahomes, that didn’t happen.

“No, I didn’t tweak my knee,” Mahomes said. “I got hit in my knee for the first time. And so I think it was kind of out of, I was, like, kind of sitting there, like, ‘Man, that’s the first time I’ve taken a shot there.’ So I kind of just felt it and it felt fine and I got back up and kept going.”

Mahomes is still learning to trust his knee in his return from a fluky injury. Getting hit on his knee for the first time was a little jarring for Mahomes and it took him a second to get his bearings. He had to make sure that the knee was alright before getting up and moving on to the next play.

This won’t be the last time that he gets hit in that knee, but hopefully, he now has some newfound confidence in its ability to handle the rigors of playing through a physical game. It was one that required him to pick up some yards on the ground and there could be more of those down the line for Kansas City.

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Chiefs scout attends Colin Kaepernick’s workout despite location change

Only six teams were reported to have representatives after the workout with a last-minute location change.

Most teams didn’t show up to QB Colin Kaepernick’s workout, but the Kansas City Chiefs were one of the few teams represented.

Kaepernick and his camp felt no choice but to arrange their own workout and switch locations after the NFL refused transparency in the workout they had arranged. The alternate location was reported to be a high school, roughly an hour away from the Falcons’ facility. There were as many as 24 teams expected to be represented at the initial workout and only six of them showed up at the new location to see Kaepernick throw. The Chiefs were represented among those six teams with scouting assistant Ricky Seale in attendance.

Nothing about this situation was ideal from the get-go, but Kaepernick continued along with his plan to hold a workout. When it was all said and done, those in attendance and watching the stream seemed to be impressed with several facets of his game. First, they liked that he was still in football shape, despite the short notice of the workout. He also showcased the signature arm strength that was part of his repertoire when he first entered the NFL. His accuracy was shaky at times during the throwing session, but that’s to be expected. Kaepernick also had a chance to showcase his ability to throw on the run, which was always one of the stronger parts of his game in the NFL.

Following the workout, Kaepernick addressed a few of the scouts in attendance, including and urged them to relay a message to the owners of the teams they represented.

I can’t imagine the comment will be taken well by those in charge of making the decisions.

The Chiefs, of course, aren’t in need of a quarterback right now. They have four players at the position between the active roster and the practice squad.  It’s important to keep in mind that Kaepernick’s workout wasn’t necessarily held with this season in mind as we’re already well into the 2019 season. Good teams always look for ways to make their team better, no matter who they already have at the position. This feels like one of those situations for Kansas City, but we’ll see how things play out for Kaepernick in the future.

Report: Chiefs will have scout in attendance for Colin Kaepernick’s workout

A new report says the Kansas City Chiefs will have a scout in attendance for Colin Kaepernick’s workout.

The Kansas City Chiefs will be among the teams in attendance for former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s workout in Atlanta on Saturday, according to a new report.

The Chiefs weren’t originally listed among the 13 teams that had confirmed they would attend the workout as of Thursday. Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt did mention during his Wednesday press conference that he wouldn’t be surprised if general manager Brett Veach sent a scout for the workout.

Kansas City Star beat writers Herbie Teope and Vahe Gregorian confirmed that the Chiefs will, in fact, have a scout in attendance.

Kansas City isn’t in need of help at quarterback. They have three quarterbacks on the active roster: Patrick Mahomes, Matt Moore and Chad Henne. Plus they have Kyle Shurmur on the practice squad. It’d take a major injury or two for the Chiefs to consider adding Kaepernick.

It’s hard to see Kansas City as a team with a genuine interest in adding Kaepernick now or in the future, but there are other benefits to having a scout in attendance. Obviously, being diligent with any player that can make your team better is important. Attending as a professional courtesy to the league, which set up this unprecedented workout, is also a big factor here. At the same time, looking at players that your opponents might take interest in is also a useful tool.

Kaepernick hasn’t played since the 2016 season, during which he and then-teammate Eric Reid ignited a firestorm by kneeling during the national anthem to protest social injustice. This year, Kaepernick and Reid settled collusion lawsuits against the league in which they alleged they were blackballed because of their protests.

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes feels as healthy as he’s been since Week 1

There have been no setbacks for Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes. Instead, he feels perhaps as healthy as he’s been all season long.

Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is feeling hunky-dory after making his return to action against the Tennesse Titans in Week 10. There were no setbacks for Mahomes following the game, which is a really good sign for his progress and ability to stay on the field for the remainder of the 2019 season.

“I feel really good, honestly,” Mahomes said. “Just going out there and being able to play the game — do the things that I’ve kind of grown accustomed to doing — scrambling and doing all that different type of stuff. Coming out healthy was definitely a positive sign and I’m glad that I can kind of keep moving forward with that.”

As for when the last time Mahomes felt this good from a physical standpoint, he reflected back to ahead of the Week 1 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. During that game, Mahomes suffered an ankle sprain, which he battled all season leading up to his kneecap dislocation suffered during Week 7 against the Denver Broncos.

“I would probably say [this is the best I’ve felt since] going into the Jacksonville game,” Mahomes said. “Just being able to not worry about the ankle or not have to worry about the knee. And just being able to go out there and play football the way that I’ve played it my whole career, so far.

Mahomes feels perhaps as healthy as he’s been all season long, he’s had adequate time to recover and rehab from both injuries. He recalled no specific plays on Sunday where Mahomes felt like he snapped back into the swing of things. Instead, when he first stepped on the field during pregame warmups, he knew he was ready to play.

“I don’t think so. I think the moment I got on that field and you kind of get your mind off of it,” Mahomes said. “You’re just able to focus on what you need to focus on in order to have success as a team. I think that was kind of the moment for me. Pregame and throughout the week you’re trying to push it and see what you can do and what you can’t do. I think when I got on that field I realized I was good to go and everything that I had done with the trainers and doctors had prepared me for the game.”

As the Chiefs head down to Mexico City to face the Chargers on Monday, it appears they’ll have a refreshed, focused and healthy QB leading the way.

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Clark Hunt ‘wouldn’t be surprised’ if Chiefs send representatives to Colin Kaepernick’s workout

Kansas City Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt spoke on Colin Kaepernick and his upcoming workout during his press conference on Wednesday.

Former San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick is suddenly the talk of the football world again after the NFL arranged a private workout for him in Atlanta this weekend. Kaepernick has been away from the NFL for nearly three years in a contentious situation centered on his protests of police brutality and social injustice.

While the Kansas City Chiefs are set at the quarterback position, Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt knows general manager Brett Veach to be the diligent type. The two haven’t discussed sending a representative to the workout, but it wouldn’t come as a shock to Hunt if Veach did.

“I haven’t had a chance to speak with Brett about it yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he sent someone because Brett likes to turn over every stone,” Hunt said. “We are in a pretty good spot from a quarterback standpoint, with four on the roster right now. But Brett likes to be really thorough in his due diligence.”

Hunt was taken aback when he learned that the league would host a workout for Kaepernick. After all, it’s not commonplace for the league to get involved and provide players with workout opportunities beyond the annual scouting combine.

“I read the release from the league yesterday and I have not been a part of any discussions with the league about that happening,” Hunt said. “I was probably as surprised as anybody.”

While there have been some rumors connecting Kaepernick to the Chiefs over the past several years, Hunt was unaware of any serious discussions taking place. As for what Kaepernick might have left in the tank after being away from the game for nearly three years, Hunt expects that the workout will go a long way toward answering that question.

“It’s something that I really can’t speak to,” Hunt said. “I think every player in every situation is different. This workout will probably go part of the way towards answering that question, and that’s probably why he and his representatives wanted to do it.”

Kaepernick’s situation is about as different as they come and certainly has generated some intrigue across the league.

Kurt Warner says Patrick Mahomes might be ‘most complete QB we’ve ever seen’

Warner is ready to argue that Mahomes might be the best QB to ever play the game and he’s not saying it carelessly.

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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time singing his praises.

On Tuesday, Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner took to Twitter and offered up a scorching-hot take on the Chiefs’ young gunslinger. Warner said that he might be ready to argue Mahomes is the most complete QB ever to play the game of football. He acknowledged it’s still early in Mahomes’ career but simultaneously fawned over the special things that Mahomes is capable of both mentally and physically. Check out what Warner had to say in the tweet below:

We’ve seen the crazy throws, the next-level anticipation, the blitz awareness, the command of the offense at the line of scrimmage. It feels like it’s all only getting better for Mahomes lately. He’s coming off one of the best performances in his young career and it occurred just 24 days removed from dislocating his kneecap. Against the Titans in Week 10, he threw for 446 yards. It was the second-highest passing yardage total of his young career, trailing only the shootout with the Rams in 2018.

It’s not shocking to see Warner take an interest in Mahomes right now. The Chiefs QB has broken NFL records previously held by Warner. This past week, Mahomes surpassed Warner for the most total passing yards (8,007) and most 300-yard passing games (16) through 25 career games.

It’s not just the one game, though, because what Mahomes has done statistically this season is quite impressive. He’s thrown for 2,626 passing yards (6th in the NFL), 18 touchdowns (3rd) and one interception (tied for 1st). His lone interception came on a throw where he saw a flag and thought he had a free play, but the officials picked up the flag.

Keep in mind that he accomplished all of this in just seven-and-a-half games, leaving one of those games early with a kneecap dislocation. Mahomes is clearly improving from his MVP campaign in 2018, and that is a scary thought. It’s no wonder why Warner is thinking that we just might be watching the best QB to ever play the game.

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes continues to break NFL records

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes’ performance on Sunday helped him leave his mark on NFL history yet again.

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If you’re in need of an indication that Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is back and as good as ever, this should do the trick.

Mahomes made his 25th career start on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans. It also marked his return from a kneecap dislocation. Despite the Chiefs’ loss, Mahomes completed 36-of-50 passes for 446 yards and three touchdowns.

A lot of NFL records have crumpled at the hands of Mahomes, and he added several more on Sunday. According to NFL Communications, Mahomes now holds the record for the most passing yards through 25 career games with 8,007. Hall of Famer Kurt Warner is the only player who comes close to that in 25 games, with just under 7,400 passing yards.

That isn’t the only record Mahomes surpassed. He also passed Dolphins legend Dan Marino for the most passing touchdowns through 25 career games with 68. Marino had 65 in his first 25 career games.

And that’s not all. According to Chiefs team reporter Matt McMullen, Mahomes has the highest passer rating and the most completions in his first 25 starts of any player in NFL history. He’s essentially leading all quarterbacks in four of the most meaningful passing categories through 25 games.

Finally, Sunday’s game marked Mahomes’ 16th with at least 300 passing yards. It was enough to surpass Warner for the most games with at least 300 passing yards in a player’s first 25 games.

You won’t see Mahomes bragging about these individual accolades, especially when the Chiefs aren’t winning. Still, it’s awe-inspiring how every time Mahomes steps on the football field he manages to break another record and etch his name in the NFL history books. You can rest assured this won’t be the last time you hear about Mahomes surpassing a record. The next one may even happen as early as Week 11 against the Chargers in Mexico City.

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