- - Patrick Mahomes' Backup Gardner Minshew Likely Tears His ACL Just 1 Week After Chiefs Star Suffers Same Injury

Anna Lazarus CaplanDecember 23, 2025 at 12:15 AM

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Gardner Minshew -

The Kansas City Chiefs are dealing with another quarterback injury

Patrick Mahomes' backup Gardner Minshew likely tore his ACL during Sunday's game against the Titans

The team turned to third-string QB Chris Oladokun

The Kansas City Chiefs are dealing with another injury to their quarterback, one week after Patrick Mahomes suffered a season-ending ACL tear.

Gardner Minshew, Mahomes’ backup, sustained a left knee injury — reportedly an ACL tear — during the third play of the game on Sunday, Dec. 21 against the Tennessee Titans.

Minshew, 29, went down in an apparent non-contact injury, ESPN reported. After hobbling off the field, the signal-caller attempted to continue to play but the Chiefs then had to call in their emergency quarterback, Chris Oladokun.

The Chiefs went on to lose 26-9, marking the first time they will finish the season with a losing record in the 12 years that coach Andy Reid has been at the helm.

Minshew will undergo an MRI on Monday to confirm the extent of his injury, the team said.

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Gardner Minshew

Earlier in the week, the Mississippi native shared that he was excited about the opportunity to lead the Chiefs’ offense, and that he had been texting with Mahomes, 30.

"He's been great, man,” Minshew said. “As soon as he's been figuring everything out, he's been texting the QB room. Very positive, trying to get the guys fired up, getting everybody ready to go.”

Minshew also credited Mahomes’ leadership.

"That dude still wants us to win," Minshew said. "That's what he cares about, and it's awesome that we have a leader like that."

For Oladokun — who previously saw brief playing time in a blowout loss to the Broncos last January — stepping in is something he told reporters after the game that he’s been prepared to do.

“Being here for four years, you always walk through when your first moment’s gonna be, when you’re gonna get an opportunity,” Oladokun, 28, said after the game. “I’ve really just attacked these last four years … you never know when your number’s gonna be called.”

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Source: “AOL Sports”