The Kansas City Chiefs will be hoping and praying that franchise quarterback and two-time MVP Patrick Mahomes is ready for the start of the 2026 regular season in September after tearing his ACL and LCL in December.
If he is not, the Chiefs will have to rely on the likes of Justin Fields, or in extreme circumstances rookie signal caller Garrett Nussmeier, who Kansas City picked in the seventh round of last month’s NFL Draft, to lead the passing offense.
With the addition of the quarterbacking pair, it appears that there is no longer room for the team’s former offseason addition, ex-New Orleans Saints QB Jake Haener, who was released on Monday May 4.
The team also waived defensive linemen Ethan Hurkett and former third round draft pick for the Chicago Bears, Zacch Pickens.
Chiefs Deem Jake Haener Surplus to Requirements
Haener spent his first two seasons in the NFL as a backup option for the Saints, after being taken in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, 127th overall, including in 2024 where he spent the year as the QB2 behind veteran Derek Carr. It was in this year that he made his first and only career start to date – a 20-19 loss to the Washington Commanders, in which he went 4/10 for 49 passing yards and 1 interception.
The former Fresno State man was originally bought in to flesh out the bare quarterback room in Kansas City after the departure of 2025 backup Gardner Minshew, where he was listed as the team’s third-choice signal caller prior to the draft.
However, the additions of Fields – who will almost certainly serve as the primary backup to Mahomes in 2026 – and Nussmeier pushed Haener down the depth chart into the fifth stringers, and it appears that head coach Andy Reid and general manager Brett Veach no longer saw a viable road to him making the final roster in the fall.
What Will the Chiefs’ Quarterback Room Look Like in 2026?
Patrick Mahomes will no doubt be the starter, when healthy. And at this point in time it would seem that Fields is in line to the no.2. The former first round pick has a variety of starting experience for three different franchises, and has shown himself at times an ability to equip himself well in passing and run-focused offenses.
Nussmeier was expected by many to go in late day two, early day three of April’s draft, somewhere in the early third to late fourth round territory, It was a shock to many that he slid all the way to the 249th pick – a compensatory seventh rounder just eight picks north of 2026’s Mr Irrelevant, Red Murdock.
Despite his flaws and lack of consistency, it is undeniable that the former LSU star has substantial talent, the same talent that made many believe he was a shoe-in first round draft pick in 2026 ahead of this past college football season.
He will more than likely compete with Chris Oladokun, who has spent the past four seasons with the Chiefs, despite being waived ahead of August’s final roster cuts in each of last three, for the final QB spot on Kansas City’s roster.
Chiefs Release Former Saints Quarterback After Three Months