KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- From the day he took a visit with coach Andy Reid and the Chiefs as he was preparing for the 2019 draft, Gardner Minshew said he wanted to someday play in Kansas City.
When he finally had a chance this year to join Reid and the Chiefs as the backup to quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Minshew didn't waste much time accepting their offer, one he said he was hoping for before he was even released by the Las Vegas Raiders at the start of the free agent signing period.
"I knew in my head that this was where I wanted to be," Minshew said. "I took a predraft visit with the Chiefs back in the day coming into the league and I feel like everything went really well. Just talking to Coach Reid then and understanding what they're all about, I always knew that that'd be a really good fit.
"To get on the phone with Coach Reid and get to hear what they're talking about and also to hear how he sees me fitting and how he values my personality and what I bring to the table, that just fires me up so much to be somewhere that you feel appreciated and valued and obviously by somebody you respect so much and has had so much success to doing it."
The Chiefs didn't draft Minshew, who instead was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the sixth round. The Chiefs were his opponents in his first NFL game as a rookie, a 40-26 Jacksonville loss.
Now, after subsequent stops in Philadelphia, Indianapolis and Las Vegas, Minshew is the latest veteran backup to Mahomes, following Chad Henne, Matt Moore, Blaine Gabbert and Carson Wentz. Minshew has mostly been a starter in his six NFL seasons but said he's ready to accept a reserve's role.
"Super fired up to be part of just a winning organization, a winning culture," Minshew said. "I feel like I have so much to learn from how Coach Reid and everybody operates, 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.
"Being a starting quarterback in the NFL is a hard deal and especially with all the expectation with everything that gets put on, especially with a guy like [Mahomes], sometimes it's having a safe place in the quarterback room where you can come and let off some steam or just have a good laugh. That little stuff is very important. I look forward to just being able to work with him, help in any way I can, whether it's on the practice field, in the meeting room, getting ready for game days, if there's film preparation I can help with or even, like I said, providing a good laugh here or there."
Helping Mahomes prepare has been the major role for his backups since he became the Chiefs' starter in 2018. He has been remarkably durable, missing only two games because of injury, both in 2019. He missed three other games over the seven years, all in the last game of the regular season when the Chiefs rested Mahomes and other starters after clinching a playoff seed.
If that's any indication, Minshew won't play much, if any, meaningful football in 2025. But he's intrigued by the possibilities if he does.
"I've always been a huge fan of [Reid's] offenses," Minshew said. "I've always felt that that was something I could do well in. Pat came up playing in the Air Raid, something I did in college as well. I feel like that kind of play style of just understanding and feeling space, understanding leverage in numbers, I think that really serves you well in [Reid's] system."