Patrick Mahomes’ back-up Gardner Minshew paid tribute to the stricken Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback after watching him tear his ACL on Sunday.
Mahomes went down with less than two minutes remaining of the 16-13 defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers. An MRI after the game confirmed he had suffered a cruciate ligament injury in his left knee and is unlikely to play again until the early weeks of next season.
Minshew came in with the game – and the Chiefs’ playoff hopes – still on the line but failed to get the job done, throwing an interception to the Chargers’ Derwin Jones Jr that ended their chances of reaching the post-season for an 11th successive year.
In a sombre Chiefs’ locker room, Minshew outlined his disappointment for Mahomes.
“It’s been hard to watch for Pat,” Minshew said. “That dude put so much into it. I don’t think I’ve ever respected anybody I’ve played with more. I’ve never seen someone I’ve played with give so much of themselves to the team. To not get the results is hard, but I’ve got more confidence in him than anybody to come back and be better than ever.
“He’s down, man, obviously. It’s a tough game, and it’s been a tough year to this point.”
As for his own problems, Minshew added: “I felt very comfortable to go in and execute the offense. I hate that situation. I hate that I couldn’t deliver and get us a win and keep our [playoff] hopes alive.”
Mahomes set for surgery
Mahomes is expected to undergo surgery in the coming days before an offseason of rehabilitation.
The 30-year-old wrote on X: “Don’t know why this had to happen. And not going to lie, [it] hurts. But all we can do now is [trust] in God and attack every single day over and over again. Thank you, Chiefs kingdom, for always supporting me and for everyone who has reached out and sent prayers. I [will] be back stronger than ever.”
The Chiefs will now have to dip into the market to acquire a quarterback with Minshew not under contract for next season and unlikely to be retained, unless he performs much better over the final three games of the regular season.
