Gardner Minshew, at one time, felt a little bit like an NFL cult hero.
Back when he came out of nowhere to win some games for the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Minshew mustache mania was a glorious thing.
That adds to the bummer of everything happening right now for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Minshew is going to start, but in the worst of circumstances: He's Patrick Mahomes' backup, and Mahomes tore his ACL.
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There's no chance at being a hero, either. The Chiefs are officially eliminated from the playoffs.
Minshew can potentially make the case for himself earning a contract for next season, but that's about it.
The Chiefs play the Titans, Broncos and Raiders to close out the season. The only team they could even play spoiler to a little bit is Denver, but the Broncos might be safe in all their pursuits no matter what happens in that game.
Minshew is far from a perfect quarterback, but he's a fun QB.
In most scenarios, getting to see Minshew starting NFL games would be an exciting things.
Just not in this setup, not for an injured Mahomes, not for a Chiefs team just playing out the season with nothing to pursue.
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There will still be plenty of faithful Minshew supporters watching and rooting.
Minshew himself will give it his all. He didn't make it to 46 NFL starts (before this week) by not trying his best.
But in what promises to be a riveting close to the NFL season, Minshew will just be a footnote, even for the previously mighty Chiefs. That's not particularly fun.
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