New Chiefs QB Happy to Be in the 'Culture'

NFL journeyman quarterback Gardner Minshew will play for his fourth team in four years when the new season kicks off in September. But this time, he finally feels like it's where he belongs.

On March 13, Minshew signed a one-year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs, a team he's had his eye on since a pre-draft visit in 2019.

Instead of being drafted by the Chiefs, the former Washington State Cougar went in the sixth round to the Jacksonville Jaguars where he played two seasons before being traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in the offseason before the 2021 season. 

Minshew then went to the Indianapolis Colts in free agency for the 2023 season, where he made the Pro Bowl. Last offseason, Minshew signed with the Las Vegas Raiders and split time as the starter.

Now he heads into 2025 as a Chief after spending very little time on the open market, mainly because that's where he wanted to be.

“From the end of our season — when it seemed like I was going to get cut — I knew in my head that this is where I wanted to be,” Minshew said in his news conference late last week, via Jared Sapp of ArrowheadPride.com. “I took a pre-draft visit with the Chiefs back in the day [before] coming into the league. I feel like everything went really well — just talking to coach [Andy] Reid and understanding what they’re all about. I always knew that [Kansas City would] be a really good fit.”

When Minshew mentions he thinks he's a "good fit" it's because of Reid's offense.

“I’ve always felt that was something that I could do well in,” Minshew said. “I feel like Pat came up playing in the ‘Air Raid.’ It was something I did in college as well. I feel like that kind of play style — of just understanding and feeling space and understanding leverage in numbers — really serves you well in the system.”

Minshew compared his game to that of Mahomes, and now that they're playing in the same system on the same team, he hopes he can be part of that future success.

“I’m super fired up to be part of just a winning organization [and] winning culture,” Minshew said. “I feel like I have so much to learn from how Coach Reid and everybody operates — [and] how Pat operates — and I’m just looking forward to helping in any way I can. 

"If there’s any way I can help this team — whether it’s on the scout team, whether it’s helping Pat in meetings, whether it’s just bringing good energy to practice — I look forward to just doing whatever I can to contribute and help this team win.”