Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs listed four players as out of practice on Monday’s estimated report.

Wide receiver Rashee Rice (concussion), cornerback Trent McDuffie (knee), wide receiver Tyquan Thornton (concussion) and cornerback Jaylen Watson (groin) were listed as non-participants.

Offensive tackle Jaylon Moore (knee) and defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi (illness) were limited.

Seven players were estimated full participants, including safety Mike Edwards (shoulder), cornerback Kristian Fulton (knee/wrist), tight end Noah Gray (shoulder) and offensive guard Trey Smith (ankle).

The Chiefs placed quarterback Gardner Minshew on season-ending injured reserve on Monday.

Quarterback Gardner Minshew may have avoided a torn ACL, but his knee injury was significant enough that he will miss the rest of the 2025 season.

The Chiefs announced Minshew has been placed on injured reserve, which will end his season.

Minshew played just 14 offensive snaps before he had to exit Sunday’s eventual loss to the Titans.

In four appearances with one start this season, Minshew completed 6-of-13 passes for 37 yards with an interception.

Minshew is set to be a free agent in 2026 after signing a one-year deal with the Chiefs last offseason. With his experience, Minshew is likely to have a market for his services as a backup next year.

Additionally, the Chiefs announced the signing of Shane Buechele to their 53-man roster.

Chris Oladokun appears poised to start at quarterback against the Broncos this week on Christmas night.

Quarterback Gardner Minshew got some positive news on the knee injury he suffered during Sunday’s loss to the Titans. But Kansas City is still adding another quarterback.

According to multiple reports, further testing revealed that Minshew did not, in fact, tear his ACL as initially feared on Sunday. Minshew is still set to miss time, but he avoided a worst-case scenario after going down early during the Week 16 matchup in Nashville.

To that end, multiple reports note the Chiefs are signing quarterback Shane Buechele to the 53-man roster off of the Bills’ practice squad.

Buechele, 27, previously spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons — plus the 2023 offseason and training camp — with the Chiefs. He has not appeared in a regular-season game yet in his career.

Hosting the Broncos on Thursday night to cap the Christmas Day slate, the Chiefs are set to release their first injury report of the week later on Monday. Given Minshew’s injury, Chris Oladokun is likely to start for Kansas City this week after playing the majority of Sunday’s game.

All indications are that the Chiefs are headed to Kansas when their lease at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium expires.

According to Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star, the Chiefs have informed administrative officials that they are going to announce their move to Kansas on Monday after the Kansas Legislative Coordinating Council meeting.

The Kansas City Star previously reported that Kansas Governor Laura Kelly plans to make a “special announcement” after Monday’s meeting.

Chiefs owner Clark Hunt and other team officials are expected to attend Monday’s Kansas LCC meeting.

The Chiefs have been weighing a heavy renovation of Arrowhead Stadium in Missouri — where they’ve played since 1972 — or moving just across the border to Kansas to build a new domed stadium that could potentially host a Super Bowl.

Things have been lining up for the move to Kansas, which will likely become official later today.

The Grinch may be bypassing Whoville this Christmas, with his sights set instead on Kansas City, Missouri.

Via the Kansas City Star, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly plans to make a “special announcement” following Monday’s meeting of the Kansas Legislative Coordinating Council. At the meeting, key Kansas legislators as “poised to discuss a not-yet-disclosed proposal between the Chiefs and the state of Kansas.”

The move follows last week’s report that seemed to imply the Chiefs and Kansas had reached some sort of an understanding about the construction of a new, domed stadium on the Dorothy Gale side of the Missouri border. Among other telling remarks by various entities quoted at the time, the Kansas Department of Commerce said Kansas is “aggressively pursuing” a new stadium for the Chiefs, but that no “final agreement” had been reached.

The implication was clear: There’s possibly a non-final agreement that will move toward becoming finalized.

Via the Associated Press, Chiefs owner Clark Hunt and other team officials are expected to attend Monday’s meeting of the Kansas LCC. Things “could move swiftly” thereafter, with an announcement potentially coming on a $2 billion stadium that would potentially host a Super Bowl.

The current Kansas proposal would pay for 70 percent of the building with STAR bonds, to be financed by state sales and liquor taxes generated in and around the new complex that the stadium would create.

The team’s current host city seems to be bracing for what may be coming soon.

“Kansas City, the State of Missouri, and the new executive team at Jackson County have continued negotiations with our teams through this week,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said in a statement issued to the Star. “Kansas City and its partners have made compelling but responsible offers north of $1.5 billion with identifiable and backed sources of funds to maintain the legacy of Arrowhead Stadium while updating its facilities to remain among the finest in the National Football League and in the world. . . .Any decision to depart from such a legacy home would have no reflection on the outstanding people of Kansas City and Jackson County who for fifty years have given their passion, energy, and public investment into building the Chiefs into one of America’s finest sports brands,” the mayor said. “We’ll reserve further comment until we hear from the Kansas City Chiefs.”

The reality is, however, that Jackson County voters overwhelmingly rejected an April 2024 ballot measure that would have paid for renovations to Arrowhead Stadium — and a new ballpark for the Kansas City Royals. And so, while a move out of town won’t be a reflection of the citizens of Jackson County, it will be a tangible byproduct of the exercise of their collective voices at the polls.

Until the deal in Kansas is done, Missouri has a chance, in theory, to keep the Chiefs from leaving. But, like the growth of the Grinch’s heart by three sizes, Missouri may need to find a way to significantly expand its prior financial package for a full renovation of the team’s longtime home.

The Broncos had gone a long time without a loss before the Jaguars rolled over them for a 34-20 victory in Denver on Sunday afternoon.

It was September 21 when the Broncos last lost a game and they put together an 11-game winning streak over the last three months. That means it has been a while since the Broncos have had to rebound from a loss, but they’ll need to do it quickly with a game against the Chiefs on the docket for Christmas and quarterback Bo Nix said after the game that he thinks the situation could prove to be a beneficial one for the team.

“We got hit in the mouth today, and they played a good game and we let it get away,” Nix said, via the team’s website. “But you’d rather have it hit you now than in the first round of playoffs. I wouldn’t call it a wake-up call, because we were playing well. It’s just one of those that will reset you and put you back in, get you back to where you need to be. It’ll put you in a good mindset if you’ll let it. You can’t let this one linger. We have to move on and attack this week on just a short couple of days.”

The NFL hoped that the Christmas game would feature a pair of teams vying for supremacy in the AFC as the season came to an end. The Chiefs did not hold up their end of that bargain, but it might make them the right kind of opponent for the Broncos to find under the tree as they try to bounce back from Sunday’s disappointing result.

There’s more bad news on the injury front for Chiefs at quarterback.

Via Matt Derrick of ChiefsDigest.com, Gardner Minshew likely suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during Sunday’s loss to the Titans.

Minshew is set to undergo an MRI on Monday to confirm the diagnosis.

Minshew appeared hobbled after Kansas City’s first drive but stayed in the contest for three more possessions. Backup Chris Oludakun played the rest of the game, with Minshew exiting after the club gave up a safety.

If Minshew did indeed tear his ACL, that would mean he and Patrick Mahomes suffered the injury in back-to-back weeks.

Complicating matters, the Chiefs have an upcoming Thursday night game against the Broncos on Christmas Day. The club will likely need to bring in another QB as the team has no other available signal-callers aside from Oludakun.

The Titans have earned their third win of the season.

Tennessee defeated Kansas City 26-9 on Sunday, putting another notch in the belt during what’s been a difficult season.

Quarterback Cam Ward played well in the contest, finishing 21-of-28 for 228 yards with two touchdowns. The No. 1 overall pick again made some impressive throws, showing his potential against a solid defensive unit.

The Chiefs played most of the contest with No. 3 quarterback Chris Oladokun at quarterback after Gardner Minshew exited the contest with a knee injury in the first half. Initially ruled questionable, Minshew was subsequently downgraded to out. He threw eight passes in the game, completing three for 15 yards.

According to multiple reports, there is reportedly concern Minshew suffered a torn ACL.

Oladokun finished the contest 11-of-16 passing for 111 yards.

While the Titans are about to embark on a coaching search, Ward has shown plenty of traits to build around and they were on display on Sunday afternoon. Now at 3-12, Tennessee will play the Saints at home next week before finishing the season with a road matchup in Jacksonville.

At 6-9, the Chiefs will continue playing out the string on a lost season and will likely need to bring in at least one more quarterback on a short week. The club will host the Broncos on Christmas Day before finishing the season on the road against the Raiders.

It will be Chris Oladokun the rest of the way for the Chiefs as they play the Titans on Sunday.

Gardner Minshew has been downgraded to out for Kansas City, as the club is down 16-6 to the Titans in the third quarter in Week 16.

Minshew appeared to be hobbled after the Chiefs’ first drive on Sunday. But he stayed in for the next few possessions until he was examined on the sideline and removed from the game.

Minshew was 3-of-8 for 15 yards at the time of his exit.

Should something happen to Oladokun, Noah Gray is Kansas City’s emergency third quarterback, according to the CBS broadcast.

The Titans were able to go up 9-3 with a 7-yard touchdown pass by Cam Ward late in the first half. While Harrison Butker’s 41-yard field goal made the score 9-6, Titans, at halftime, Tennessee then expanded its advantage with a 1-yard TD from Ward to receiver Chimere Dike to make the score 16-6.

The Chiefs are dealing with another injury at quarterback.

Gardner Minshew is questionable to return with a knee injury suffered during the first half of Kansas City’s matchup with Tennessee.

Minshew had looked like he’d been hobbled at the end of the team’s first drive, but initially stayed in the game. But new backup Chris Oladokun ended up coming in for him on Kansas City’s fifth offensive possession, leading the team to a field goal.

Minshew was 3-of-8 for 15 yards at the time of his exit.

Tight end Noah Gray is Kansas City’s emergency third quarterback, should something happen to Oladokun.

Additionally, Titans cornerback Marcus Harris is questionable to return with a knee injury.