Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes shared an optimistic timeline for his return from a season-ending knee injury, and it appears the Super Bowl champion is steadily moving toward that projection.
The update could be bad news for the team’s newest quarterback, who could see his chance to make the initial 53-man roster slipping away.
Garrett Nussmeier Faces Challenge to Make Final Roster
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid shared an update on Mahomes this weekend, during the team’s rookie minicamp. While Reid has been hesitant to make any concrete projections about when Mahomes could return, he shared optimism that he could return for the upcoming OTAs, putting him on track for a Week 1 return.
While Mahomes continues his rehab, rookie Garrett Nussmeier took the field for the first time at rookie minicamp. Nussmeier is coming off a disappointing final season at LSU, when he saw his production drop after suffering an oblique injury.
Nussmeier was originally seen as a potential Day 1 or Day 2 draft pick, but fell to the Chiefs in the seventh round.
“I believe everything happens for a reason and I believe what I went through last year was meant to be,” he said, via Forbes. “Having gone through that, I’ve grown from it and I’ve become a better player, a better person, a better man and so I’m grateful for the struggle. I’m grateful to have gone through that because I know it’s going to help me going forward.”
If Mahomes remains on track to return for the season opener, Nussmeier would face a significant challenge in earning a spot on the final roster. The Chiefs traded for veteran backup Justin Fields, an expensive insurance policy for Mahomes who would serve as the No. 2 once Mahomes is healthy enough to return.
Because the Chiefs have traditionally kept two quarterbacks on the active roster with an emergency quarterback on the practice squad, it would leave Nussmeier competing with Chris Oladokun for the practice squad spot.
While Nussmeier would have headed to the practice squad whenever Mahomes was able to return, starting the season on the active roster could have left him with a shot of getting playing time early in the season if Fields were injured, or in a garbage-time situation.
Chiefs See Potential in Garrett Nussmeier
The Chiefs see Nussmeier as a developmental project, and the seventh-round draft pick they invested in him could give the former LSU quarterback an advantage in the competition with Oladokun for the No. 3 spot.
Ryne Nutt, Kansas City’s vice president of player personnel, also said the team wasn’t overly concerned with Nussmeier’s drop in production during his final college season.
“He was the odds-on favorite to be one of the top quarterbacks taken this year,” Nutt said, via Forbes. “He was battling through an oblique that people didn’t know about that was bothering him the whole year. And if you’re a quarterback and you can’t torque your hips and bring your hips through, the ball maybe doesn’t come out with (as) much velocity as you want.”
Nutt even said that Nussmeier will have a chance to move up the depth chart, potentially surpassing Fields as the No. 2.
“We’re excited to have this kid,” Nutt said. “He’s going to be a developmental guy for us.”
Rookie Chiefs QB Gets Bad News With Patrick Mahomes Update