Nussmeier (coach's decision) is inactive as the emergency third quarterback for Monday night's game against the Broncos.
Nussmeier will be the reserve option behind Patrick Mahomes and Justin Fields. The seventh-round rookie out of LSU will only be able to play if both Mahomes and Fields exit the game due to injury, illness or ejection.
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Chiefs' Garrett Nussmeier: Plays wire to wire in preseason finale
Rotowire
Nussmeier completed 22 of 34 passes for 198 yards with no touchdowns and one interception and rushed once for one yard in the Chiefs' 9-9 preseason tie with the Seahawks on Friday.
The rookie seventh-round pick got an extended opportunity Friday and made relatively good use of it, although his 5.8 yards per attempt underscore that Nussmeier largely played things close to the vest when dropping back. The LSU product finished preseason having completed 44 of 70 passes for 370 yards with no touchdowns and one interception, and it remains to be seen if he's locked in the No. 3 quarterback role over Chris Oladokun.
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Chiefs' Garrett Nussmeier: Solid in preseason debut
Rotowire
Nussmeier completed 13 of 19 passes for 98 yards during the Chiefs' 20-12 preseason loss to the Rams on Saturday.
Justin Fields served as the Chiefs' starter Saturday and led the team's first two offensive drives before turning the keys over to Nussmeier. The rookie seventh-rounder looked good out of the gate, leading long scoring drives in the second quarter than ended with field goals of 37 and 35 yards from Harrison Butker. Fields is firmly entrenched as the Chiefs' backup quarterback behind Patrick Mahomes (knee), so Nussmeier is competing against Chris Oladokun for the QB3 role in the upcoming season. Kansas City's next preseason game takes place Saturday, Aug. 22 against the Buccaneers.
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Chiefs' Garrett Nussmeier: Slide ends in Kansas City
Rotowire
The Chiefs selected Nussmeier in the seventh round of the 2026 NFL Draft, 249th overall.
There was a fair amount of mainstream media hype for Nussmeier to go on Day 2 of the draft, so for him to fall into the late seventh makes him a harmless, all-upside pick for the Chiefs. The Chiefs of course hope Nussmeier won't need to see the field right away, but all it might take is a good start or two to make Nussmeier a fought-over trade target a few years from now. In the meantime, the Chiefs will likely be happy if Nussmeier can merely stick on the roster as a backup -- an outcome that was taken as a foregone conclusion by most draft observers as recently as the morning before the Chiefs picked him. Nussmeier (6-foot-2, 203 pounds) is smallish and struggled a concerning amount during his LSU career, including in his most recent season. Nussmeier's completion percentage was poor in his first four years -- 64.2 as a fourth-year player was his career high to that point -- and then in 2025 Nussmeier's YPA dropped to 6.7 yards. This is probably another Quinn Ewers sort of scenario.
