The Kansas City Chiefs have been very blessed at the quarterback position in recent years. They have Patrick Mahomes as their starter, who is arguably the best quarterback in the NFL now and trending toward being one of the best players ever at the position.
But as we have seen in recent seasons, the backup at the quarterback position is as important as the starter. The San Francisco 49ers showed it last season when Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo both were injured, forcing them to turn to Mr. Irrelevant, Brock Purdy, as their starter.
Purdy has since taken the reins of the offense and remains undefeated in the regular season. Are the Chiefs confident they have a backup that would be able to keep the team afloat should Mahomes be forced to miss time?
For four years they were confident having Chad Henne in the role. But, Henne retired this offseason, leaving a void in the lineup. The Chiefs signed Blaine Gabbert, who had been backing up Tom Brady on the Tampa Bay Buccanneers, as a replacement.
Vincent Frank of Sportsnaut believes that the Chiefs could do better. In a recent article highlighting landing spots for the top 20 remaining free agents, he has predicted a quarterback to landing in Kansas City. Frank believes they should target veteran free agent, Carson Wentz.
“Wentz is not a QB1 in the NFL. He’s proven that over the past three seasons with three different teams (54 TD, 31 INT). It’s also complicated given rumors of locker room issues in the past. What we do know is that the former No. 2 pick is willing to take on a backup job.
Perhaps, the Kansas City Chiefs come calling. They have been linked to Wentz in recent days. Blaine Gabbert is currently Patrick Mahomes’ only backup on the 53-man roster. At the very least, Wentz would be an upgrade.”
Ideally, teams are hoping that they never have to turn to their backup. But, they have to be prepared for anything and it is fair to wonder if Wentz would be an upgrade over Gabbert.
Wentz spent last season with the Washington Commanders and 2021 with the Indianapolis Colts. There was a contingent in Indianapolis that didn’t want to move on from him, but owner Jim Irsay was adamant a new quarterback was needed.
While he came up short when the teams needed him most, Wentz has proven that he can keep an offense afloat for a period of time. He has had a much higher ceiling than Gabbert has ever achieved. If he signed, Wentz would become one of the highest-upside backups in the NFL.
