Chiefs Fear Torn ACL For Gardner Minshew
Sunday’s action represented the second straight game in which a Chiefs quarterback exited due to a knee injury. Gardner Minshew was unable to finish Kansas City’s Week 16 contest, and he will not be expected to return this season. 
The Chiefs fear Minshew tore his ACL, as first reported by Matt Derrick of ChiefsDigest.com. He and ESPN’s Adam Schefter report further testing will take place, including an MRI. Based on the initial indications, though, Minshew seems to be on track for a lengthy recovery just like Patrick Mahomes.
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Late last week, Mahomes suffered his own ACL tear during the game which ensured Kansas City’s playoff elimination. That set up Minshew to handle QB1 duties the rest of the way, but instead he is now in store for a lengthy spell out of the picture. Mahomes is of course not in danger of having his Chiefs tenure come to an end any time soon, but Minshew is a pending free agent.
Following a brief Jacksonville stint and two years as a backup in Philadelphia, Minshew spent one year with the Colts and another with the Raiders. He totaled 22 starts over that period, but upon reaching the open market this past spring the 29-year-old was viewed as a high-floor backup option. That was confirmed when he became Kansas City’s latest veteran QB2. Presuming further tests confirm an ACL tear, Minshew’s value for 2026 will obviously take a serious hit.
Chris Oladokun handled quarterback duties after Minshew went down. The former seventh-round pick will presumably continue to do so for the Chiefs’ two remaining games this season. Oladokun is also a pending free agent, so Kansas City’s QB room could look much different by the start of the 2026 campaign. Mahomes’ progress in recovery will of course be a major storyline for the team over the coming months, but Minshew is in danger of finding himself in the same situation for the offseason.
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes Suffers Torn ACL
TODAY: The Chiefs announced that Mahomes underwent successful surgery in Dallas this evening, with the team adding that the quarterback will begin his rehab process immediately.
Meanwhile, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that Mahomes also tore his LCL yesterday. While that could potentially complicate his recovery, Rapoport says it won’t necessarily extend Mahomes’ nine-month timeline.
DECEMBER 14: It looked bad when it occurred, but definitive news wasn’t expected quite this soon. The Chiefs have officially announced that star quarterback Patrick Mahomes has suffered a torn ACL in his left knee. His season has come to an end as the team explores surgical options. 
This is unprecedented territory the 30-year-old quarterback. Mahomes has damn near been an ironman since entering the NFL. He has only ever missed two games with injury. After only appearing in one game of his rookie season behind starter Alex Smith, Mahomes’ next absences occurred over a two-week stretch in 2019, when he dislocated his patella. After that, the only games Mahomes missed were the final regular season contests in 2020, 2023, and 2024 as he rested for the playoffs in each campaign.
The injury occurred today as Mahomes was rolling out right for a pass and, after releasing it, was tripped up by Chargers defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand. The two-time MVP immediately grabbed at his knee and did not return to the game. After the loss, head coach Andy Reid told reporters what he knew, that Mahomes had “injured his left knee and will get an MRI either tonight or tomorrow morning,” per ESPN’s Jeff Darlington. Asked about the degree of severity, Reid told the media, “I don’t know. It didn’t look good.”
About 90 minutes later, Mahomes himself took to X with a message. He told fans that he didn’t “know why this had to happen” and that “it hurts.” He ended his message with an ominous promise, saying, “I will be back stronger than ever,” insinuating that an absence was to come. About half an hour later, the team account delivered the results of the MRI that did, in fact, take place tonight.
Following Mahomes’ early exit, backup quarterback Gardner Minshew entered only his third game this season and did so, for the first time, not in garbage time. In fact, Kansas City was trailing when Mahomes exited, and Minshew failed to bring the team back. The Chiefs would go on to lose their third game in a row, and adding insult to injury, the team was officially eliminated from playoff contention, as a result. This is the first time Kansas City will not participate in the postseason since 2014, three years before Mahomes was drafted.
With nothing left to play for, Minshew will likely take Kansas City the rest of the way. Practice squad passer Chris Oladokun stands a strong chance at taking Mahomes’ spot on the 53-man roster as Minshew’s backup. Mahomes, though, will continue exploring surgical options with the team as they begin the long road back to what they hope will be a return in 2026.
The Chiefs have been able to count on Mahomes’ durability since his stratospheric 2018 debut, gliding to seven straight AFC championship games since the 2017 first-rounder debuted as the starter. Matt Moore was in place as his backup during the 2019 season — one that ended the franchise’s then-50-year Super Bowl drought. Moore was brought in for the ’19 season due to a Chad Henne injury, but Henne became needed when Mahomes suffered a concussion in the 2020 divisional round. Mahomes then played the 2022 playoffs with a high ankle sprain, needing to leave a divisional-round game for a short period in the first half. The future Hall of Fame QB also suffered an ankle injury late last season but did not miss any time.
Kansas City has toggled through backups since Henne’s February 2023 retirement, moving from Blaine Gabbert to Carson Wentz to Minshew. Dropped after one season as the Raiders’ primary starter, Minshew signed with the Chiefs on a one-year, $1.17MM deal. The Raiders are still footing some of the bill after giving him a two-year, $25MM contract in 2024. Minshew will have a three-game audition, as a potential 2026 raise — from the Chiefs or another team — will be in play.
As for the Chiefs, they were trending toward missing the playoffs with Mahomes. That represents a shocking development based on their finishes with the Missouri icon at the controls. Entering the season seventh in scoring defense, the team did not have issues comparable to the 2024 Bengals or the Saints during their absences amid Drew Brees‘ prime. While the Chiefs held the Chargers to 16 points, a Mahomes INT denied a potential go-ahead fourth-quarter drive. His injury occurred soon after, signaling a voyage into uncharted waters for Kansas City.
Kansas City’s defense did not quite meet its level of recent seasons, though, cutting into a bounce-back Mahomes slate. The ninth-year passer ends his season fifth in QBR, closing the campaign with 22 touchdown passes, 11 interceptions and 3,587 passing yards.
Mahomes’ MRI will help shape his timetable. More damage being discovered potentially would put the PUP list in play to open the 2026 season. The Chiefs will obviously hope for a Week 1 return; their 2026 backup search will be more important regardless of when Mahomes is expected back, however.
Sam Robinson contributed to this post.
Gardner Minshew Addresses Decision To Sign With Chiefs
Following his Raiders release, Gardner Minshew elected to remain in the AFC West. The veteran quarterback signed with the Chiefs to operate as their backup, a move he recently spoke about. 
“From the end of our season – when it seemed like I was going to get cut – I knew in my head that this is where I wanted to be,” Minshew said of Kansas City during his introductory press conference (via Pro Football Talk’s Myles Simmons). “I took a pre-draft visit with the Chiefs back in the day [before] coming into the league. I feel like everything went really well… I always knew that [Kansas City would] be a really good fit.”
The former sixth-rounder began his career with the Jaguars, but after only two years in Jacksonville he was traded to the Eagles. That set Minshew up for a pair of seasons in Philadelphia, followed by his single campaign with the Colts (which included 13 starts). While Indianapolis was interested in re-signing him, Minshew took a two-year Raiders deal last spring to compete for Vegas’ QB1 gig.
The 28-year-old won a training camp competition against Aidan O’Connell, one in which neither passer delivered a convincing performance. Minshew’s ball security gave him an edge, but his time atop the depth chart fluctuated over the course of the season. He was benched on more than one occasion, although O’Connell’s injury situation still resulted in nine Minshew starts. The latter suffered a broken collarbone in November, leading to a failed physical designation for his Raiders release.
Given his injury situation, it came as something of a surprise Minshew signed quickly in the wake of his Vegas tenure coming to an end. A number of other quarterback dominoes had not fallen at the time of his one-year Chiefs agreement, and waiting out the situation could have yielded a path to at least competing for a starting gig with a different team. Given Minshew’s remarks, though, it is clear his priority was to head to Kansas City on the open market.
The Chiefs had Carson Wentz in place as Patrick Mahomes‘ backup last season, and he made just one start (a Week 18 game which came after the No. 1 seed in the AFC had been clinched). Minshew will likewise not have a path to playing time barring a Mahomes injury, but he clearly landed his preferred opportunity for the 2025 campaign.
Chiefs To Sign QB Gardner Minshew
Carson Wentz appears to be a Chiefs one-and-done. Kansas City will bring in a recent AFC West rival to replace him, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports Gardner Minshew is Missouri-bound.
Designated a post-June 1 cut by the Raiders on Wednesday, Minshew will back up Patrick Mahomes next season. It is a bit interesting Minshew will take a deal so soon, as a few bridge opportunities may still exist. But the Chiefs have convinced the veteran to accept a QB2 role in his seventh year. It is a one-year agreement.
Minshew’s Raiders year did not go well, as he follows Jimmy Garoppolo in receiving a post-June 1 release designation to leave Las Vegas. Antonio Pierce benched Minshew on multiple occasions, and he suffered a broken collarbone during a November game against the Broncos. The Raiders used a failed physical designation to release Minshew, making this quick Chiefs agreement interesting from another angle.
Like Wentz, Blaine Gabbert and Chad Henne before him, Minshew will step into the Mahomes QB2 role as an experienced starter. The former sixth-round pick has 46 starts on his resume. This includes a solid season with the Colts, as the Anthony Richardson injury fill-in piloted the team to the playoff precipice in 2023. Last season, Minshew was tied to a Raiders team that let Josh Jacobs walk and traded Davante Adams after he played just two 2024 games. Pierce named Minshew the starter but was certainly not satisfied with his work, expressing frustration about the Raiders’ QB situation behind the scenes and pulling the veteran for Aidan O’Connell in multiple games.
Minshew, 29 in May, went 2-7 as a starter last season and posted a 9-10 TD-INT ratio. Minshew did up his completion percentage to 66.3 but averaged only 6.6 yards per attempt. With the Colts in 2023, the ex-Jaguars draftee went 7-6 in place of Richardson and posted a 15-9 TD-INT ratio. Minshew still averaged only 6.7 yards per pass as a Colt, but Indianapolis wanted him back in a veteran role. The Raiders’ two-year, $25MM offer proved well out of Indy’s price range, and Minshew will not collect anything close to that with the Chiefs.
Mahomes, 30 in September, has proven durable since a scare during the 2019 season. Although he has suffered multiple ankle injuries over the past three seasons, the three-time Super Bowl MVP has been able to largely play through them. With no need to develop a quarterback, the Chiefs have continued to take the veteran route. Minshew will be the latest to stop through Kansas City behind the QB icon.
Raiders To Release QB Gardner Minshew
10:34am: A last-ditch trade effort will take place, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore. That will be unlikely to succeed, but the team will try to collect a low-end asset for a player who will otherwise hit the market soon.
9:35am: After yo-yoing in and out of the Raiders’ starting lineup last season, Gardner Minshew suffered an injury that took him out of that mix. As expected, the Raiders will end that experiment at one season.
The Raiders have informed Minshew he will be cut, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports. No move will take place until March 12, the start of the 2025 league year. This suggests a post-June 1 designation, which would save the Raiders $12.5MM for 2025. If so, it would mark the second straight year a Raiders quarterback becomes a post-June 1 cut; the team designated Jimmy Garoppolo as such in 2024.
Minshew won the Raiders’ starting job out of camp but was benched on multiple occasions during Antonio Pierce‘s season in charge. Pierce expressed frustration to then-GM Tom Telesco about the Raiders’ 2024 QB plan, which centered around Minshew’s two-year, $25MM contract. Both were soon out in Las Vegas, and the Tom Brady-John Spytek-Pete Carroll trio are readying to make a bigger upgrade effort this year. They were in discussions to authorize a near-$100MM guarantee package for Matthew Stafford, but the experienced QB is staying with the Rams.
Although the Raiders most likely were the team that sent the Commanders their lone trade offer for No. 2 overall (as Pierce aimed for a Jayden Daniels reunion), they made their Brock Bowers pick one spot after the Broncos chose Bo Nix. That left the top six QBs — in what might be an impressive draft class at the position — in last year’s crop spoken for. Signed as insurance against the team not coming out of the draft with a high-end prospect, Minshew then became the Raiders’ top option.
Having led the Colts to the playoff precipice as an Anthony Richardson replacement in 2023, Minshew became a sought-after bridge option last year. He did not build on that Indianapolis performance in 2024, though, posting a 9-10 TD-INT ratio and averaging just 6.6 yards per attempt. In Minshew’s defense, the Raiders let Josh Jacobs walk in free agency and traded Davante Adams in-season. Minshew and Aidan O’Connell did help Bowers to a historic season and Jakobi Meyers to a quiet 1,000-yard campaign. While O’Connell remains on his rookie contract, Minshew can begin looking elsewhere.
Minshew, who was due an $11.84MM base salary for 2025, has made 46 career starts — with the Raiders, Colts, Eagles and Jaguars — and has found success as a former sixth-round pick. The six-year veteran will head back to the bridge market and should at least command interest as a backup option for the ’25 season.
Raiders Expected To Cut Gardner Minshew?
As the new Raiders regime looks to retool their quarterbacks depth chart, some of the team’s incumbent signal callers may be pushed off the roster. That would naturally include the team’s highest-paid QB, as Tashan Reed of The Athletic writes that Gardner Minshew is a release candidate heading into the offseason.
Minshew inked a two-year, $25MM deal with the Raiders last offseason, and the organization is still on the hook for some guaranteed money for the 2025 campaign. That contract does contain an out, but it would only provide the Raiders with about $3MM in relief while leaving close to $11MM in dead cap.
Reed says the more realistic route would see Minshew released via a post-June 1 designation. In that scenario, the Raiders would free up $6MM in cap space since the QB’s dead cap hit would be spread across the 2025 ($7.82MM) and 2026 ($3MM) campaigns. It’s a less-than-desirable outcome for the front office, but there’s still enough incentive to move on from the veteran.
Minshew’s first (and likely lone) season in Las Vegas couldn’t have gone much worse. The Raiders went 2-7 in his nine starts, with Minshew finishing with a career-low touchdown percentage (2.9) and a career-high interception rate (3.3). The 28-year-old was replaced a handful of times by Aidan O’Connell before getting definitively benched in November.
After going 7-6 as a starter with the Colts in 2023, Minshew seemed like a logical bridge or stopgap QB heading into last offseason. Assuming the QB ends up reaching free agency via his release, he may have to settle into a similar backup role he had with the Eagles in 2021 and 2022.
With Pete Carroll and John Spytek now running the operation (along with Tom Brady‘s heavy influence), it seemed very unlikely that the Raiders would roll into the 2025 campaign with the same QB grouping. O’Connell still remains under contract, but the organization will surely be looking for some reinforcement at the position. The team has already been connected to a handful of veteran options, including Russell Wilson, Sam Darnold, and Marcus Mariota. The Raiders are also armed with the sixth-overall pick and could be in position to select one of the draft’s top QB prospects.
Raiders Activate QB Aidan O’Connell, Place CB Jakorian Bennett On IR
Aidan O’Connell will indeed be in place for the Raiders for their Black Friday contest. The second-year quarterback was activated from injured reserve on Thursday, per a team announcement. 
O’Connell was designated for return earlier this week with the expectation he would be activated in time to start against the Chiefs tomorrow. The QB1 gig will be his the rest of the way this year given Gardner Minshew‘s broken collarbone. Minshew was officially moved to IR in a corresponding move.
The Raiders have been linked to a quarterback pursuit this offseason given their struggles on offense, although both Minshew and O’Connell are under contract for 2025. The latter has made 12 total starts in the NFL, but after showing a degree of promise late last season the current campaign has not gone according to plan. O’Connell, 26, will be joined on the depth chart by Desmond Ridder over the coming weeks but it would come as no surprise if one or more new signal-callers were to be added this offseason.
Vegas also placed cornerback Jakorian Bennett on IR Thursday. The 2023 fourth-rounder handled rotational duties as a rookie but he has been a mainstay in the secondary this season. Bennett has logged a defensive snap share of 71% this season, posting 26 tackles and eight pass deflections. In coverage, the Maryland product has allowed a completion percentage of just 52.3% and has yet to surrender a touchdown as the nearest defender. His absence (which will last at least the next four games) will be acutely felt in the Raiders’ secondary.
The Bennett move opened up a spot on the active roster, and it has been filled by wideout Terrace Marshall. The former Panthers draftee was waived during roster cutdowns and he briefly spent time on the 49ers’ practice squad. Marshall has most recently been with Vegas, and has been used as a gameday elevation once already. The former second-rounder will now get a look on the roster as he looks to carve out a role in the team’s receiving corps.
Raiders Designate QB Aidan O’Connell For Return; Daniel Jones Rules Out Las Vegas
NOVEMBER 26: The Raiders do indeed plan to start O’Connell this week, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports. With Minshew sidelined for the remainder of the year, O’Connell will be in place to retain QB1 duties the rest of the way.
NOVEMBER 25: Gardner Minshew failed to finish a Raiders-Broncos game for the second time, with the oft-benched quarterback going down with a broken collarbone yesterday. Antonio Pierce confirmed reports of the break Monday and said Aidan O’Connell is in play to return this week.
The Raiders have since designated O’Connell for return from IR. This marked the second-year quarterback’s first week of return eligibility. The Raiders will now have 21 days to activate the QB to the active roster, but it sounds like O’Connell could return as soon as Black Friday. The signal caller has been rehabbing a broken thumb suffered in late October.
With Minshew failing to impress to begin the campaign, O’Connell eventually took over atop the depth chart. He got his first start in Week 6, completing 27 of his 40 pass attempts for 227 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. However, he was knocked out of his second start after only 14 snaps, and his placement on IR kept him off the field for the past four games.
In four appearances this season, O’Connell completed 63.4 percent of his passes for two touchdowns and two interceptions. This followed a 2023 campaign where the rookie fourth-round pick went 5-5 while throwing 12 touchdowns vs. 11 interceptions. While the Raiders are well outside of the playoff picture, O’Connell will still have a chance to build on his career numbers for the stretch run of the season.
He could also make an argument for the QB1 role ahead of the 2025 campaign. O’Connell remains attached to his rookie contract through 2026, while Minshew was added on a two-year pact in the spring. The Raiders should also be armed with a top pick in next year’s draft, so there’s a chance the team adds another QB to the mix before the start of the 2025 season.
With Minshew being lost for the season, the Raiders will no longer have to make a decision following O’Connell’s activation. Minshew improved on his turnovers over his past four starts, with the veteran tossing five scores vs. two picks over that span. When the QB was knocked out of yesterday’s game, he was replaced by Desmond Ridder, who completed five of 10 passes while also taking a pair of sacks.
Considering the Raiders’ inconsistent play at the position in 2024, they’ve been mentioned as a natural suitor for Daniel Jones. While the team did indeed show some interest in the former Giants starter, the quarterback has “eliminated Las Vegas from consideration,” per Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report. Jones has received interest from “multiple” playoff squads and is interested in joining a contender.
Ben Levine contributed to this post.
Raiders’ Gardner Minshew Out For Season
Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew suffered a season-ending broken collarbone against the Broncos in Week 12, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo.
Minshew left the game in the fourth quarter after being sacked by Cody Barton and Jonathon Cooper. Desmond Ridder finished the game at quarterback for the Raiders, completing five of his 10 passing attempts for 64 yards and a 70.4 passer rating.
Las Vegas will now have to decide between Ridder and 2023 fourth-rounder Aidan O’Connell as their starting quarterback next week. O’Connell is still on injured reserve after a broken thumb suffered in October, but he is eligible to return this week. He is likely the team’s preferred choice – the Raiders only signed Ridder after O’Connell’s injury – but his original return timeline was expected to be four to six weeks.
O’Connell’s practice availability will be a major indicator of his potential to play in Week 13, but he will have less time than usual to prepare with the Raiders playing the Chiefs on Friday. If he is designated to return to practice this week, he should be able to start. However, if there are any setbacks – or if O’Connell’s thumb is simply not healed yet – then Ridder will start under center in Kansas City with practice squad quarterback Carter Bradley likely to be elevated for backup duties.
As for Minshew, he will spend the rest of the season on the sidelines, waiting for his collarbone to heal so he can work his way back to full strength. He signed a two-year, $25MM deal with the Raiders this offseason but won just two of his eight starts with 178 completions on 264 attempts for 1,783 yards with more interceptions (nine) than touchdowns (eight). His $14MM cap hit in 2025 is reasonable for a potential starting quarterback, but Las Vegas may be in search of long-term stability at the position. If O’Connell performs well to close out the year, he may get a shot as a full-time starter next year. If not, the Raiders should be well-positioned to select a top quarterback prospect in the 2025 draft.
Just $3.16MM of Minshew’s 2025 salary is guaranteed, so the Raiders could save $9.34MM in cap space with a post-June 1 cut, leaving dead cap hits of $4.66MM and $3MM in 2025 and 2026, respectively.
Minshew’s injury will naturally stir speculation that the Raiders could sign Daniel Jones, who was officially waived by the Giants on Saturday. Multiple reports listed Las Vegas as a potential destination for Jones even before Minshew went down. Those rumors will likely intensify with Minshew sidelined, though it’s worth noting that Jones would reportedly rather join a team contending for a postseason berth, not a top-10 pick in next April’s draft.
Raiders To Sign QB Desmond Ridder
With Aidan O’Connell heading to IR, the Raiders are adding some quarterback depth. The team is signing Desmond Ridder off the Cardinals practice squad, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
[RELATED: Raiders To Place QB Aidan O’Connell On IR]
Ridder was a fourth-round pick by the Falcons in 2022. The former Cincinnati star went 2-2 as a rookie after replacing Marcus Mariota as Atlanta’s QB1, and he spent the majority of last season as the team’s top quarterback. He ultimately started 17 games during his two-season stint in Atlanta, going 8-9 while completing 64 percent of his passes for 3,544 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. He also added another five touchdowns on the ground.
The QB was briefly replaced by Taylor Heinicke during the 2023 season. While Ridder eventually returned to the starting lineup, it was clear he didn’t have a future in Atlanta. After the organization added Kirk Cousins via free agency this offseason, Ridder was dealt to the Cardinals for wideout Rondale Moore.
Ridder was competing to be Kyler Murray‘s backup in Arizona but ended up losing the competition to Clayton Tune. The third-year pro later landed on the Cardinals practice squad, where he’s spent the first two months of the season.
Now, he could have an opportunity to play in Las Vegas. O’Connell fractured his thumb during yesterday’s loss, leaving the Raiders with Gardner Minshew and undrafted rookie Carter Bradley as their only two QBs. Minshew, who leads the NFL with 10 turnovers, was replaced as the starter two weeks ago. While the former Jaguars standout will likely slide back to the top of the depth chart, there’s a good chance he’s on a short leash, perhaps opening the door for a Ridder cameo.