Patrick Mahomes is still going through recovery for his late-season ACL and LCL tear from last season, which has very much put his availability for Week 1 in doubt. If he's not ready to start the season, the Kansas City Chiefs need to get active to find a fill-in: Gardner Minshew took snaps in relief of Mahomes in 2025, and he too, woundup up hurting his knee. The good thing for the Chiefs is that they have options if they want to go a different route.Â
One of those options could be Kyler Murray, who’s garnering a lot of attention with the news of his pending release from the Arizona Cardinals. Murray will be a hot name in free agency, as NFL teams are desperately looking for their savior under center and love the idea of getting a former No. 1 overall pick for a minimum salary. There are several teams that could be in the market for Murray, and there’s plenty to talk about with NFL free agency now right around the corner. Here are the latest rumors to get you ready for the chaos of the offseason.Â
Kansas City Chiefs turn attention to Patrick Mahomes’ backup ahead of 2026 season
Mahomes should be ready for Week 1 after suffering a knee injury toward the end of last season, but just in case he’s not, the Chiefs are going to need reinforcements to hold them over. According to ESPN, thereare quite a few options the team could turn to, including bringing Minshew back or targeting Kirk Cousins, who’s projected to be released by the Falcons at the start of the new league year.Â
Murray is also an option, though I don’t know if it would suit him to go to Kansas City to buy time for Mahomes when he could have a starting job elsewhere. Trey Lance and Tyler Huntley are two other options ESPN mentions; I think of the names listed, the best choice is Huntley, who has the most experience as a backup and has carved out a decent career for himself.
I think Cousins is the better player overall, but he’s not nearly as mobile and he’ll probably want to land somewhere he has a chance to start the whole year. If the Chiefs were wise, they’d land on Huntley. He’s proven he’s a good option in a pinch and should be able to come in and keep the Chiefs afloat pending Mahomes' return. If he has to play extended time this season, I feel like he’d do the best of any available bridge option without tying the team down beyond 2026.
Potential Kyler Murray landing spots ramp up ahead of free agency
You had to know the Minnesota Vikings were going to be in the middle of any quarterback rumors this offseason. Kyler Murray is the latest name on their shortlist as they explore all options not named J.J. McCarthy. One bad season has the Vikings seemingly desperate for a quarterback change, and now they’ll have their pick of who they want under center. The most realistic options include the aforementioned Cousins and Murray.Â
Cousins makes sense because of his familiarity with the organization and Kevin O’Connell. That said, will he really be as good as they want him to be this time around? I wouldn’t bet on it. But I would bet on Murray being the favorite to land in Minnesota: Though his career hasn’t quite panned out given his draft pedigree, if there’s anyone that can help him reach his potential, it’s O’Connell.Â
The Vikings have made it clear they don’t want McCarthy to be the starter next season. If they decide to bring in another option, Murray would make the most of this season and a team that's ready to compete right now. He’s about the same age as Daniel Jones and Sam Darnold, and like them he needs to prove he’s still good enough to be a franchise guy in the NFL. If he landed in Minnesota, it would be a massive upgrade all around. The team is far better than the Cardinals, and Murray would have no excuse but to look the best he has since entering the league.
Dallas Cowboys taking the cheap route this offseason
Just because you have the cap space doesn’t mean you have to use it all. But if you restructure contracts to create more cap space, it wouldn’t make sense to not use it. That’s the situation the Dallas Cowboys are in, as ESPN predicts the Cowboys to have a quiet free agency. On one hand, that makes sense, because the Cowboys are usually boring when it comes to the open market. On the other, that doesn't explain their flurry of contract restructures to clear space this offseason.
Dallas has to figure out how to exactly build this roster into a contender, and that starts with free agency. They need pass rush, they need secondary, they need linebackers. They obviously won’t be able to address every single need with the space they have, but they can at least give it a shot.
If ESPN knows something we don’t and Dallas truly does have a quiet free agency, then freeing up all that space was pointless. Jerry Jones is known for his loud remarks and quiet actions. Neglecting to improve this roster with the cap space he chose to free up just doesn’t make sense. Then again, very few times does Jones’ action add up to rational human processes.Â