NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Gardner Minshew limped off the field Sunday early in the second quarter and never returned.
For a second straight game, a starting quarterback for Kansas City was sidelined by a knee injury.
Chris Oladokun replaced Minshew, who was making his first start this season for the Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes on injured reserve after tearing two knee ligaments last week. Coach Andy Reid had no immediate
update on the severity of Minshew's injured left knee after a 26-9 loss to Tennessee.
“We’ll get that when he has a chance to have an MRI on it,” Reid said.
The Chiefs (6-9) lost their fourth straight for the franchise's longest skid since 2017. And they secured their first losing record since 2012, the season before Reid took over in Kansas City.
And they have a short turnaround before hosting Denver on Thursday night with likely a third starting QB in as many games.
“It’s definitely an unprecedented situation that I’ve never been a part of,” three-time All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones said. “But as coach Reid said, ‘We work with who we got, and we just keep it moving.’”
Minshew finished 3 of 8 for 15 yards.
Oladokun, signed to the roster from the practice squad, took over early in the second quarter and finished the game. He was 11 of 16 for 111 yards and took four sacks. He drove the Chiefs to a trio of field goals by Harrison Butker.
“Praying for not only Pat and what happened last week, but also Gardner," Oladokun said. "We don’t know the severity of the injury yet, but our QB room is so close. And so when you see good friends go down like that, it’s really tough.”
Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons said he saw Minshew get up slowly at one point but didn't know the quarterback had left the game until seeing Oladokun on the field. Simmons asked what happened once he got to the sideline.
“I’m not going to lie to you, I didn’t know they had him on the roster," Simmons said of Oladokun. "I don’t even ... all I knew was Minshew. I didn’t know nothing about a backup quarterback.”
Oladokun was a seventh-round draft pick by Pittsburgh in 2022 after playing in college for South Florida, Samford and South Dakota State. His only previous NFL appearance came on Jan. 5 in the Chiefs' 38-0 loss to Denver. He ran once for 5 yards, was sacked once and fumbled.
On Sunday, Oladokun handed off on his first five plays and threw away his first pass attempt. He finally connected with Travis Kelce for 6 yards for his first NFL completion.
“Being here for four years, you always walk through when your first moment is going to be and when you’re going to sort of get an opportunity,” Oladokun said. “I’ve really just attacked these last four years like you never know. Today just happened to be an opportunity for me and I wanted to take full advantage of it.”
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