Who is the Chiefs' Backup Quarterback and Emergency QB for Super Bowl?

This year's Super Bowl features a matchup between two star quarterbacks once again as Patrick Mahomes leads the Kansas City Chiefs against Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles. Hopefully nothing happens to these two incredible talents, but both are nursing injuries heading into the big game.

With that in mind, here's what you need to know about the Chiefs' backup QB situation for Super Bowl 57.

Who is the Chiefs' Backup Quarterback for the Super Bowl?

Kansas City has two other quarterbacks on its roster besides Patrick Mahomes. Chad Henne is Mahomes' primary backup and briefly filled in for the injured starter when he went down in the Divisional Round with an ankle injury.

Henne is the prototypical veteran backup. He's played in the NFL since 2008, spending time with three different franchises and logging 54 starts across 13 active seasons. Across his combined 78 games played, Henne has recorded career numbers of 13,290 passing yards, 60 touchdowns and 63 interceptions.

Henne hasn't started a game since the 2020 campaign. Instead, he's seen spot snaps in place of Mahomes over the past two years. He most recently played against the Jacksonville Jaguars in this year's playoffs, recording 23 passing yards and a touchdown on 7 pass attempts before Mahomes returned.

Who is the Chiefs' Emergency Quarterback for the Super Bowl?

Shane Buechele, meanwhile, serves as the Chiefs' third-string QB. However, he hasn't played in a single NFL game since going undrafted in 2021.

Buechele played at the University of Texas for three years before transferring to SMU. He put up much better numbers with the Mustangs, throwing for 7,024 yards, 57 TDs and just 16 INTs across two seasons. He then caught on with Kansas City's practice squad, where he's served as QB3 behind Mahomes and Henne.

Since teams are only allowed to dress two QBs on game days, Buechele has drawn the inactive label throughout his tenure. The Chiefs do have a few other players on their active roster they could turn to if Mahomes and Henne both went down, though.

Star tight end Travis Kelce has served as Kansas City's emergency quarterback in the past after playing the position in high school and college. Most recently, though, head coach Andy Reid said he would've turned to running back Jerick McKinnon in the Divisional Round if Henne also got hurt while Mahomes was sidelined.

The Chiefs also carry a QB on their practice squad in Chris Oladokun. The 25-year-old hasn't suited up in the NFL yet, but he played quarterback at South Florida, Samford and South Dakota State in college.

Isaiah De Los Santos is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Isaiah De Los Santos also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username zayyy05328. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.