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An early positional battle is taking shape at Kansas City Chiefs OTAs.

Kansas City Chiefs OTAs are in full swing with mandatory minicamp just around the corner, and early positional battles are beginning to take shape.

For example, the competitions for the backup and third-string quarterback roles behind Patrick Mahomes have already begun, and projected third-stringer Bailey Zappe got off to a rough start last week, according to KSHB 41 beat reporter Nick Jacobs.

During the June 1 edition of the “41 is the Mic” podcast, hosted by Jacobs and Chiefs Digest beat writer Matt Derrick, the former called out Zappe for his questionable decision-making early on at OTAs.

The comment stemmed from a discussion that jokingly pointed out the fact that the Kansas City quarterbacks did not scramble or throw the ball away much during the media-friendly practice on May 29, something Derrick implied is typically a boring move during padless practices.

To which Jacobs replied with a chuckle: “Well, there were a couple of times Bailey Zappe probably should have thrown the ball away.”

“Cause he tossed it right into the heart of the defense, where there was no window and there was no opportunity,” Jacobs explained, noting that these turnover-worthy throws “would have been picked in a game.”

The reporter concluded that Zappe “forced a couple there inside the 10 [yard line].”

Chiefs Backup QB Gardner Minshew Already Looks Like Upgrade Over Carson Wentz at OTAs

Fortunately for the Chiefs, Zappe is more likely competing with Chris Oladokun for a practice squad spot than he is up against Gardner Minshew for the backup job. And the latter has looked good so far, per Jacobs.

“I will say in terms of Gardner Minshew, he’s a step up over what they had with [Carson] Wentz last year,” Jacobs noted on the podcast.

Continuing: “The zip on the football, the velocity to it, how he’s seeing [the field], where he’s placing [the football]. Like, he’s got a much better rhythm both under center and out of shotgun than what Carson Wentz had, because Carson Wentz was sailing passes last year. In OTAs, in seven-on-sevens, in training camp, like, [Wentz] would throw passes too high to where Nikko Remigio having to leap for a football would have been the norm for a lot of receivers. And they would have gotten hit significantly.”

This shouldn’t come as a shock, as Minshew has started competitive games for the Las Vegas Raiders and Indianapolis Colts in recent years. Meanwhile, Wentz is still available in free agency.

But it is a good sign that Minshew could be the best Chiefs backup QB since Chad Henne.

Although the hope is obviously that you never see any of these guys take the field during a regular season game or playoff outing anyway.

Chiefs QB Battle Should Be Boring Again in 2025

There won’t be too much quarterback intrigue at Chiefs training camp in 2025, and that’s a positive, not a negative.

Mahomes probably won’t see any real competition until he turns 40, if even, so the QB1 battle is always nonexistent.

However, in recent years, even the backup quarterback role has become a lock. That will be the case this summer as Minshew may have already locked things up after one week of padless practices.

As mentioned above, there will be a practice squad battle between Zappe and Oladokun, assuming both make it to camp. But that sort of competition won’t excite most fans.

Zappe unseated both Oladokun and Ian Book for this job in 2024 after a surprise last-minute roster cutdown move, but he’ll have to earn it this time around.

Oladokun has flashed talent over his years in Kansas City, but he’s failed to show consistency. If he can do that in 2025, it’s possible that the dual-threat talent beats out Zappe at QB3.

Michael Obermuller covers the NFL for Heavy.com, where he began writing in 2021. His areas of focus specialize on the Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Pittsburgh Steelers, with expert knowledge on each based on years of coverage. An NYC area native and Quinnipiac graduate, Michael also provides MLB coverage at Athlon Sports, and his previous bylines include Heavy on Jets, FanDuel’s The Duel, King Fantasy Sports and Pro Football Mania. More about Michael Obermuller

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