The Kansas City Chiefs added veteran Blaine Gabbert to their quarterback room on April 18, but his contract details were unclear initially.
Guaranteed money is key in a signing like this because too little could imply the player is a camp arm while too much could suggest they’re making the Week 1 roster. According to Over the Cap, $1.0925 million of Gabbert’s $1.3175 million deal will be paid in full, with a full dead cap hit of $1.0925 million if the backup signal-caller is cut.
In other words, as USA Today Chiefs Wire media member Charles Goldman put it: “More than likely, Gabbert is here to stay.” That’s not all the KC insider predicted on the 2023 QB room, however.
“Having three QBs is going to become commonplace soon given talks at the annual league meeting,” Goldman voiced on Twitter. “Won’t be shocked if there is a protected spot on the 53-man or practice squad just for an extra QB as early as this year.” This rule change would open the door for third-year prospect Shane Buechele to make the roster as the third signal-caller once again — although fourth-stringer Chris Oladokun would also have a shot in camp.
Chiefs Could Still Draft QB to Compete With Shane Buechele & Chris Oladokun
If Goldman is correct that the Chiefs will most likely keep three quarterbacks in 2023 once again, that would also make another theory more plausible.
The Athletic’s NFL Draft scouting expert Dane Brugler appeared to be pretty confident that Kansas City will at least consider drafting a new signal-caller this April. His player to watch was Jaren Hall out of BYU.
“The BYU connection between Andy Reid and Hall is a fun story, but I’m told the Chiefs ‘love’ Hall’s skill set,” Brugler reasoned. “Kansas City understands the importance of the backup quarterback, so much so that the Chiefs might even make this pick a round earlier.”
Brugler had KC selecting Hall in round four, but a pick like that could range anywhere from round three to round six — depending on the prospect and the draft trends in 2023.
This would then set the Chiefs up both short- and long-term at the backup QB position. Gabbert is signed to a one-year contract and could certainly fill the shoes of Chad Henne from an experience standpoint while Buechele, Oladokun and a new draft pick would be forced to duke it out for the developmental role.
As Goldman alluded, the NFL could even help KC out with a QB3 rule change after the San Francisco 49ers rare injury situation during the NFC Championship last winter.
Financial Re-Up Is on the Horizon for Chiefs & Patrick Mahomes
During his pre-draft press conference on April 20, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach spoke on the rising QB market and the likelihood of a Patrick Mahomes II re-up in the future.
“We have a special relationship with him and his agent,” Veach told reporters. “We’re in constant communication, as you mentioned. It’s one of those things, and I think Coach [Reid] hinted on this in his last press conference, as soon as one guy gets done it’s kind of the blueprint and the model and two years later, it’s jumped and exceeded. But I think that this organization and the relationship that we have with Pat, we’ll always be working to make sure that we’re doing right by everybody.”
Veach added that “there will be a couple more contracts that still have to be done — [Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe] Burrow and [Los Angeles Chargers’ Justin] Herbert — and once they do, I think we’ll kind of look at everything and assess where you are and what you can do and take it from there.”
After Jalen Hurts’ extension with the Philadelphia Eagles, Mahomes is now ranked sixth in terms of average-per-year value at $45 million according to Over the Cap. The fellow Super Bowl challenger in 2023, Hurts, was awarded five years, $255 million, which comes out to $51 million per season.
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New Contract Details Foreshadow ‘Likely’ Outcome in Chiefs QB Room