The Kansas City Chiefs brought in some help at quarterback this offseason as Patrick Mahomes was rehabbing a torn ACL and his ability to start the season was unclear.
With Mahomes now on track to play for the team in Week 1, the Chiefs are projected to part ways with the former practice-squad quarterback who replaced him to end last season. Veteran Chris Oladokun is expected to fall below the cut line, with the Chiefs instead leaning on a trusted veteran and a rookie developmental project to round out their quarterback room.
End of the Line for Chris Oladokun?
SI.com’s Jordan Foote broke down the roster bubble candidates after the first four days of training camp, predicting that Oladokun would fall on the wrong side. The Chiefs brought in veteran Justin Fields as a backup and potential replacement if Mahomes was not ready to go, which could squeeze out Oladokun.
“Mahomes, like he has multiple times in the past, appears to be ahead of schedule following an injury,” the report noted. “Regardless of whether he’ll be 100% for Week 1, which most do expect, he’ll avoid going on the physically unable to perform list barring any setbacks. Fields, traded for during the offseason, backs him up.”
Foote predicted that the Chiefs would choose to keep rookie Garrett Nussmeier, who may not make it through to waivers.
“Nussmeier may have been the ‘last in’ for us in this exercise,” Foote wrote. “Assuming everything tracks regarding medicals for the 2026 seventh-round pick, it’s hard to envision another team not potentially being intrigued enough to claim him on waivers. The risk of losing him could keep Kansas City from cutting him.”
Oladokun filled in for the Chiefs to conclude last season, after both Mahomes and backup Gardner Minshew went down with season-ending injuries. Oladokun completed 63.6% of his passes last season, throwing for a total of 235 yards with one touchdown.
Though the Chiefs failed to win another game after Mahomes went down with a season-ending torn ACL, head coach Andy Reid shared some praise for Oladokun.
Chiefs Could Move Patrick Mahomes Along Slowly
While the Chiefs likely won’t need to keep an extra quarterback to account for Mahomes, who is on track to start in Week 1, they will likely move their franchise signal-caller along slowly as he returns from a torn ACL.
As The Athletic’s Jesse Newell reported, the team appears to be strategically testing Mahomes to see how well his surgically repaired knee responds to stress.
“During Sunday’s practice, Mahomes was part of a group that worked on rollouts to his left,” Newell wrote. “That throwing movement — while done under the close watch of coach Andy Reid — certainly was designed to put at least some early stress on Mahomes’ surgically repaired left knee.”
ESPN insider Nate Taylor predicted that the Chiefs would continue their slow approach, keeping Mahomes out of all three preseason games for the first time in his career. That could give Oladokun more opportunities to prove himself, with a potential return to the practice squad.
Chiefs Predicted to Part Ways With QB Who Started in Place of Patrick Mahomes