The Chiefs went into the offseason looking for a backup quarterback who could steady the ship if Patrick Mahomes wasn’t ready to open the season after his knee injury. On paper, Justin Fields fit the bill. He had more than 50 NFL starts across five seasons with the Chicago Bears and New York Jets, which made him an obvious candidate to bring some real insurance to Kansas City’s QB room.
So far, though, the results haven’t matched the idea.
Through two preseason games, Fields has not separated himself from the backups the Chiefs have cycled through in recent years. Gardner Minshew was supposed to be the answer last season before getting hurt soon after stepping in for Mahomes.
Before that, Carson Wentz held the role, and in 2023 it was Blaine Gabbert. None of them made much of a mark in Kansas City, and Fields was expected to raise the level.
Instead, he’s looked shaky.
In the preseason opener, Fields completed all four of his passes, going 4-of-4 for 41 yards. The clean completion percentage didn’t tell the full story, though.
The offense never really got rolling, and most of his throws came underneath. Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he got a longer look and finished 9-of-12 for 64 yards while taking two sacks, including a huge loss on third down when the Chiefs were trying to punch the ball into the end zone.
By the numbers, he’s now 13-for-16 for 105 yards, which works out to about eight yards per completion.
That’s not the kind of production Kansas City had in mind.
For context, Mahomes averaged about 11.4 yards per completion last year, one of his rougher seasons, and about 13.3 yards per completion in his first year as a starter. Fields, meanwhile, has struggled to push the ball downfield at all.
It’s fair to wonder whether the Chiefs’ receivers and offensive tackles deserve some of the blame, but Fields has been working with the team’s starters in preseason action. Even with that advantage, there’s a case that rookie seventh-round pick Garrett Nussmeier has looked more comfortable attacking downfield while working with worse receivers and offensive line play.
Nussmeier has his own rookie mistakes, but he has shown more willingness to let it rip. Fields, by contrast, has looked uneasy in the pocket.
That has also shown up in training camp, where Fields has been up and down while Nussmeier has more often drawn the kind of praise reserved for a throw that just looks right. None of that means Nussmeier is the better quarterback right now.
It does mean the veteran Kansas City traded for hasn’t looked much more polished than a seventh-round rookie.
The good news for the Chiefs is that Mahomes is on track to start the regular season, and the hope is that he stays healthy all year. If that happens, the backup role may never matter much.
Still, Kansas City wanted more reliability behind him this season. Fields does bring better rushing ability than the team’s recent backups, but that’s about where the edge ends for now.
He has one more preseason chance to change that impression, and so far, he hasn’t done it.
In Other News...
Chiefs Preseason Loss Put One Roster Battle Front And Center
The Chiefs preseason trip to Tampa Bay offered a little of everything, from encouraging defensive flashes to a finish that left the result hanging on one kick. Rookie defenders Mansoor Delane and R Mason Thomas both turned in promising plays, while Felix Anudike-Uzomah added a sack and multiple quarterback pressures as Kansas City kept itself in the game despite the 16-15 loss.
Harrison Butkers 69-yard field goal was the headline moment of the night, but his late go-ahead attempt missed and helped turn the final stretch into another reminder of how quickly roster evaluations can shift in August. For Kansas City, the game also put one battle front and center, with every snap and special-teams decision carrying extra weight as the roster picture starts to sharpen. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Roster Battle Just Got More Complicated After Buccaneers Test
The Chiefs preseason meeting with the Buccaneers added another layer to a roster fight that already had plenty of moving parts. Games like this tend to sharpen the edges of the competition, and Kansas City got a useful look at who helped their case and who left the coaching staff with more to sort through as cut-down decisions draw closer.
Harrison Butker again steadied things, while R Mason Thomas and Felix Anudike-Uzomah gave the front a push with performances that stood out in a game built around evaluation. On the other side, Jaylon Moore, Kahlil Benson and Justin Fields found themselves on the wrong end of the review, which is exactly the kind of uneven showing that can turn a simple preseason snapshot into a much more complicated depth chart puzzle. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Preseason Loss Still Put Two Young Offensive Names On Notice
With Patrick Mahomes, Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy and Trey Smith all sidelined while they recover from injuries, the Chiefs have spent their first two preseason games giving younger offensive players a longer look. It has been the kind of August stretch that can make or break roster battles, and two names have started to stand out in a meaningful way.
Emmett Johnson gave the offense a lift with a touchdown in the second preseason game against the Buccaneers, while second-year receiver Jalen Royals led Kansas City in receiving yards. Andy Reid liked what he saw from Royals, and both players are trying to position themselves as useful role pieces for the 2026 season, even if the preseason result itself did not go Kansas City's way. [Read more 🡒]