The Kansas City Chiefs took another loss this week, this time against the Tennessee Titans, and they lost Gardner Minshew in the game. There were fears that he tore his ACL, but it looks like he may have gotten better news than expected, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
“Chiefs QB Gardner Minshew received some good news, as his ACL was spared, sources say following the MRI. His knee is still injured and should miss game time. But not what it initially appeared,” Rapoport wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Instead of having an ACL injury, it looks like Minshew just has something similar to a bone bruise.
“More specifically, this would be called a non-displaced tibial plateau fracture, one that ends his season and puts Gardner Minshew on IR, source says. Basically, a very bad bone bruise. But no surgery needed,” Rapoport wrote.
Still, Minshew was placed on the season-ending injured reserve on Monday, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.
It's been a rough two weeks for Chiefs quarterbacks. Last week, Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL and will be out for the next nine months, and possibly longer. This week, Minshew gets injured, and it feels like the world is falling down on the Chiefs.
With Mahomes and Minshew out, the Chiefs signed Shane Buechele off the Buffalo Bills' practice squad. He has familiarity with the Chiefs, as he played with them during the 2021 and 2022 seasons with them. There's a chance he could be the starter for the team for the rest of the season, or they could roll with Chris Oladokun, who came in for Minshew against the Titans.
At this point, the Chiefs are probably rushing to get to the end of the season, as they've already been eliminated from the playoffs and don't have much to play for. Still, they'll probably want to finish the year strong.
