The Kansas City Chiefs have won so much over the last decade, and clearly had endless fun doing it, that it’s hard to imagine anyone in the NFL with something to offer not wanting to join the party in K.C. But there is one irrefutable player type that serves as the exception proving this rule — the quarterback itching for a starting job.
Some contend that the backup QB gig is the best in sports. You make $3-$5 million per year, go to air-conditioned meetings all week, hold a clipboard on the sideline and never get hit. The fans love you and extoll your virtues when things are going badly, and relatively rare is the scenario in which you play enough to ever prove them totally wrong.
But that isn’t the sort of role that players like Kirk Cousins, Joe Flacco and Geno Smith are looking for as they continue climbing in years and the ends of their careers begin to come into focus.
As such, convincing them to come to Kansas City and replace the departed Gardner Minshew, who ostensibly left for at least a chance to start with the Arizona Cardinals (not to mention $8 million) is going to be a hard sell unless they have no other options. Sure, Patrick Mahomes is out and they might start a couple games, maybe even into October, but that won’t last.
Former Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe probably isn’t interested in being an understudy either, but playing behind Mahomes makes a lot more sense for Milroe at this point in his career than for a veteran looking to prove he still has starting chops.
Jalen Milroe Currently QB3 With Seahawks, Has Trade Value to Team Like Chiefs
GettyQuarterback Jalen Milroe of the Seattle Seahawks.
The Seattle Seahawks drafted Milroe in the third round in 2025, though he enters his second professional season as No. 3 on the depth chart.
Ben Solak of ESPN floated Milroe as a trade candidate for teams looking for quarterback help this offseason, a group in which he included Kansas City.
“The Seahawks hedged their Darnold bet with a Round 3 selection on Milroe, who now starts down the path that [Malik] Willis was on with Tennessee,” Solak wrote February 10. “Milroe is only QB3 in Seattle behind [Sam] Darnold and Drew Lock, but Milroe started above Ty Simpson — the nominal QB2 in this draft class — at Alabama in 2024.”
“Teams likely will compare their pre-draft grades on Milroe to the grades on this year’s class, and if they can get Milroe at a discount, they could try to trade for him instead of drafting an inferior prospect,” Solak continued.
Jalen Milroe Inexpensive Short-Term Answer for Chiefs
GettySeattle Seahawks quarterback Jalen Milroe.
Starting juice Milroe does not yet have. However, if the Chiefs can send Seattle a Day 3 draft pick and bring Milroe back for the final three years of his $6.3 million rookie contract, that’s a win.
Milroe will be cheaper than the standard QB2, and the opportunity to learn under Mahomes and Andy Reid for a couple seasons would be a boon for the 23-year-old’s career. It could also prove lucrative for the Chiefs if he steps in and plays competently to start this season, then has a moment or two over the next couple years.
Willis legitimately helped the Green Bay Packers win games when Jordan Love didn’t play. Milroe could do the same for Kansas City, as Mahomes pushes into his 30s coming off the worst injury of his career.
Worst-case scenario, the Chiefs trade Milroe down the line for a draft capital profit, which is just good economics.
Chiefs Strong Trade Candidate for Super Bowl Reserve to Succeed Gardner Minshew