Who Would Be the Chiefs' Emergency Backup Quarterback?
Last Sunday, the Denver Broncos were forced to take the field against the New Orleans Saints without an active quarterback because of COVID-19 protocols. That brought up the question, what would the Kansas City Chiefs do if they were put in the same situation?
The Broncos activated practice squad wide receiver Kendall Hinton to play quarterback for the game. If Patrick Mahomes and all the other quarterbacks were unable to play, who would take the snaps?
That was just one of many topics Arrowhead Report's Mark Van Sickle on today's episode of Roughing the Kicker as we discussed this hypothetical and started to turn our focus to the Broncos matchup this week.
The answer is simple. Travis Kelce.
Kelce played quarterback in high school and in college he went to the University of Cincinnati as one but was transitioned into a tight end. As a Bearcat, Kelce never played a game at quarterback but did complete one pass for a 39-yard touchdown in his senior season.
In his NFL career, Kelce has completed one pass for four yards. On top of that, the tight end has one interception on his record.
During a press conference earlier this season, Kelce said his goal was to throw a touchdown pass this season and he had the opportunity to against the Buccaneers on Sunday.
After the game, Mahomes said he might have gotten Kelce too excited about the opportunity for a passing touchdown.
"Coach [Andy] Reid for sure told him if he can run it, run it in there first," Mahomes said. 'But I just talked to him on the side and was like, 'If I’m open man, just throw it to me' and I think that little hesitation that he had was just because I talked to him too much about it.”
Touchdown or not, Kelce would be the guy to go to in a pitch at quarterback. He has a decent arm and knows the game well enough to be a suitable replacement for a game — if there are no other quarterbacks.
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