Although it hardly comes as a shock considering recent developments this preseason, the Kansas City Star's Adam Teicher confirmed on Monday that the Chiefs will open the year with veteran Brady Quinn as their No. 2 quarterback.
A player like Quinn feels like he's been around the league for a while now, but at 27 years old he's still just entering his sixth NFL season and has plenty to prove. The strong-armed former Notre Dame product beat out an ineffective Ricky Stanzi for the backup gig fairly easily this preseason, in a competition that many originally thought Stanzi had a chance to win.
Along with his dismal 66.8 career quarterback rating, Quinn has not thrown a pass in a regular season game since his 2009 campaign with the Browns. Despite each of those being obvious red flags for a backup quarterback, Quinn still does possess the necessary arm strength and moxie to add more than he detracts from his team's offense when on the field. And on a team looking to make opponents pay with its run game and defensive pressure, that might be all Kansas City needs.
The Chiefs certainly don't want to envision life without their starting quarterback anytime soon, but like it or not, it will definitely be Quinn who gets the first crack if something should happen to Matt Cassel this season.
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