{"id":180362,"date":"2026-04-26T10:14:03","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T10:14:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=180362"},"modified":"2026-04-26T10:14:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T10:14:03","slug":"%f0%9f%9a%a8-report-chiefs-quietly-pull-off-a-late-round-gamble-that-could-flip-the-future-kansas-city-chiefs-snag-garrett-nussmeier-in-round-seven-a-move-flying-under-the-radar-but-sparking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=180362","title":{"rendered":"\ud83d\udea8 REPORT chiefs quietly pull off a late-round gamble that could flip the future\u2014Kansas City Chiefs snag Garrett Nussmeier in round seven, a move flying under the radar but sparking whispers of a hidden masterplan that fans are just starting to piece together..ll \ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2264115814-e1777159440554.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2264115814-e1777159440554.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2264115814-e1777159440554.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2264115814-e1777159440554.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Chiefs Take Risk on High-Profile QB With Injury in NFL Draft\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" \/><\/figure>\n<div>\n<p>Getty<\/p>\n<p>Garrett Nussmeier, formerly of the Louisiana State Tigers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Kansas City Chiefs have among the surest QB rooms in NFL history with Patrick Mahomes cemented as the starter when healthy, and that was before adding a 53-game starter in Justin Fields to serve as his backup in 2026. But the three-time Super Bowl champions didn\u2019t stop there this offseason.<\/p>\n<p>Kansas City spent a seventh-round pick on LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier with the No. 249 overall selection on Saturday, April 25. Nussmeier\u2019s slide was one of the most epic in recent memory, as he entered his 2025 collegiate season as a possible No. 1 overall pick and in the mix for prestigious awards like the Heisman Trophy.<\/p>\n<p>However, after Nussmeier threw for 4,052 yards and 29 TDs in 2024 (13 games), his production plummeted to 1,927 passing yards and 12 scores last season (nine games). Medical testing revealed that the 24-year-old signal-caller battled a cyst on his spinal cord that impacted his play to a significant degree.<\/p>\n<p>Tom Pelissero of NFL Network provided an in-depth report on the development last week via social media.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Former LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier underwent tests at the NFL combine that revealed a cyst on his spine \u2014 the root cause of the persistent oblique pain that derailed his 2025 season, sources say.<\/p>\n<p>The cyst was pressing on a nerve, causing discomfort in Nussmeier\u2019s oblique. He has been asymptomatic since just prior to the Senior Bowl and all throughout the draft process; if that changes down the road, Nussmeier could undergo a minimally invasive procedure and miss just 2-3 weeks while stitches heal.<\/p>\n<p>Either way, doctors say, there is no short- or long-term risk for Nussmeier, who is projected a mid-round pick in this week\u2019s NFL Draft.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>NFL Took More Serious Line on Garrett Nussmeier\u2019s Injury During Draft<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_5909357\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2245744970-e1776249823307.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" alt=\"Chiefs Take Risk on High-Profile QB With Injury in NFL Draft\" width=\"782\" height=\"440\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5909357\" data-lazy-load=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5909357\">GettyQuarterback Garrett Nussmeier, formerly of the LSU Tigers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Clearly, the league at large was more concerned with Nussmeier\u2019s health issues than were the doctors who evaluated him.<\/p>\n<p>ESPN draft coverage analysts Mel Kiper Jr. and Louis Riddick reacted to Nussmeier\u2019s fall during the broadcast on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s something going on here,\u201d Riddick said, per Awful Announcing\u2019s X account. \u201cThis is shocking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s the injury issue,\u201d Kiper responded. \u201cIt\u2019s not because of ability.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Falling to Chiefs in Round 7 Could Prove Blessing in Disguise for Garrett Nussmeier<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_5903791\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2250612991-e1776050938552.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" alt=\"Chiefs Take Risk on High-Profile QB With Injury in NFL Draft\" width=\"782\" height=\"440\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5903791\" data-lazy-load=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5903791\">GettyKansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Nussmeier\u2019s plummet down the draft board cost him millions on his first contract, though it could end up a blessing in disguise for his long-term NFL prospects.<\/p>\n<p>Mahomes is coming off an ACL tear and will likely miss some time over the first month of the 2026 season, which is why the Chiefs inked an experienced veteran in Fields who was a former first-round pick of the Chicago Bears and has started for all three teams he has played with since joining the league.<\/p>\n<p>But Fields\u2019 contract has just one year remaining, which creates the possibility that Nussmeier could begin this year as QB2 before Mahomes\u2019 return, then elevate into the backup role on a permanent basis over the next two or three seasons.<\/p>\n<p>Mahomes turns only 31 years old in September, so it is unlikely Nussmeier ever becomes the Chiefs\u2019 longterm QB1. That said, if he can make the team and maintain his spot, he will get multiple years to learn from one of the best quarterbacks ever in Mahomes and a future first-ballot Hall of Fame head coach in Andy Reid.<\/p>\n<p>Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group&#8217;s family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty Garrett Nussmeier, formerly of the Louisiana State Tigers. The Kansas City Chiefs have among the surest QB rooms in NFL history with Patrick Mahomes cemented as&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":180363,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-180362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>\ud83d\udea8 REPORT chiefs quietly pull off a late-round gamble that could flip the future\u2014Kansas City Chiefs snag Garrett Nussmeier in round seven, a move flying under the radar but sparking whispers of a hidden masterplan that fans are just starting to piece together..ll \ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47 - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=180362\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\ud83d\udea8 REPORT chiefs quietly pull off a late-round gamble that could flip the future\u2014Kansas City Chiefs snag Garrett Nussmeier in round seven, a move flying under the radar but sparking whispers of a hidden masterplan that fans are just starting to piece together..ll \ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47 - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Getty Garrett Nussmeier, formerly of the Louisiana State Tigers. 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