Chennai Super Kings will take on Kolkata Knight Riders in a crucial Indian Premier League 2026 clash on April 14 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, with both teams desperate to turn their campaigns around. CSK come into the contest with renewed confidence after ending their losing streak against Delhi Capitals. The five-time champions appear to have found a new formula at Chepauk, relying more on pace and hard lengths rather than their traditional spin-heavy approach. The return to form of Sanju Samson, who struck a superb century in the last game, has further boosted their batting unit. KKR, meanwhile, remain the only winless side this season and are under pressure to finally open their account. Despite showing flashes of brilliance, including posting a 220-plus total against Mumbai Indians, they have failed to close out games. Batting inconsistencies, particularly from Finn Allen and Cameron Green, and concerns over their bowling resources have added to their struggles.
Pitch Report
The Chepauk surface is expected to be a black soil pitch offering good pace and bounce. Unlike the slower tracks of the past, recent matches suggest that batters can trust the surface, while pacers hitting hard lengths could play a key role again.
Chennai Weather Update
Conditions in Chennai are set to be warm and humid, with temperatures ranging between 28°C and 34°C. Humidity levels could go up to 85 percent, and dew is likely to play a significant role in the second innings, making chasing slightly easier.
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Head-to-Head Record
CSK hold a clear advantage in this rivalry:
Matches: 34
CSK wins: 21
KKR wins: 12
No result: 1
However, since 2022, both teams have been evenly matched with three wins each.
CSK vs KKR: Live Streaming details
The CSK vs KKRR clash will be held at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, with the match set to begin at 7:30 PM IST. The game will be broadcast on the Star Sports Network, while live streaming will be available on JioHotstar.
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Predicted Playing XI
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Ayush Mhatre, Sarfaraz Khan, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Jamie Overton, Akeal Hosein, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet SinghKolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Finn Allen, Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Navdeep Saini, Kartik Tyagi, Vaibhav Arora With CSK looking to build momentum at home and KKR fighting to stay alive in the competition, this contest promises high stakes and plenty of drama under the Chennai lights.
Nottingham Forest improved their chances of staying in the Premier League after claiming an impressive 3-1 win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Monday night.
The visitors made a bright start to the game as Nigerian forward Taiwo Awoniyi opened the scoring less than two minutes after kick-off. The striker celebrated his 100th appearance for Forest with a fine header to put his side ahead early in the contest.
Forest increased their lead later in the first half when Igor Jesus calmly scored from the penalty spot. Chelsea had an opportunity to get back into the match, but Cole Palmer failed to convert his penalty as the home side continued to struggle.
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Awoniyi added his second goal of the night in the second half to give Forest full control of the game and silence the Stamford Bridge crowd.
Chelsea managed to pull one goal back late in the match through an acrobatic overhead kick from João Pedro, but it was not enough to stop another disappointing defeat for the Blues.
The result lifted Nottingham Forest six points above the relegation zone with only three matches left this season, giving the club a strong chance of remaining in the top flight.
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For Chelsea, the defeat dealt another blow to their hopes of qualifying for Europe next season. The London club remain in ninth place after suffering a sixth straight league defeat, increasing pressure on the team after a difficult campaign.
Tarik Skubal, the Detroit Tigers’ ace and two-time defending AL Cy Young Award winner, is set to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow that will keep him sidelined for months, manager A.J. Hinch said on Monday.
Skubal isn’t done for the season, but he is expected to be out two to three months following the surgery to remove loose bodies in his left elbow, ESPN reported.
Hinch called it an “easy process and procedure” while delivering the news, but it’s certainly a blow to the Tigers’ staff and Skubal personally that he is sidelined for months.
Detroit pitcher Tarik Skubal watches during the Atlanta Braves game on April 29, 2026, at Truist Park in Atlanta, Ga.(Rich Von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire)
Skubal’s arm locked up during a bullpen session on Sunday ahead of his scheduled start against the Boston Red Sox on Monday night. Now, he will undergo the surgery, with Hinch providing no specific timeline for his return.
Skubal’s last start came in a 4-3 win over the league-leading Atlanta Braves this past Wednesday, where he allowed two runs on five hits across seven innings of work. He struck out seven Braves hitters during his outing.
However, in that game, Skubal was spotted rubbing his left arm, leading to Hinch and a Tigers trainer going to the mound to check on the pitcher. Skubal, though, remained in the game after tossing a warm-up pitch, and he went on to pitch seven strong innings.
As a result of Skubal being out, the Tigers recalled Ty Madden to the big leagues. Tyler Holton will also be making the spot start on Monday night, serving as the Tigers’ opener before Hinch needs to get creative with his bullpen.
Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal reacts after giving up a hit against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minn., on Aug. 14, 2025.(Jesse Johnson/Imagn Images)
Skubal is the latest Tigers starter to be placed on the injured list, joining Casey Mize and Justin Verlander. That leaves Framber Valdez and Jack Flaherty as the only healthy starters at the moment.
For Skubal, the timing isn’t great, especially with impending free agency looming.
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Skubal won a record-breaking arbitration case this offseason, where the Tigers were told to pay the left-handed ace $32 million for the 2026 campaign after they proposed a $19 million salary. The victory beat Juan Soto’s arbitration pay by the New York Yankees in 2024 by $1 million.
Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers between pitches during the Braves game at Truist Park in Atlanta on April 29, 2026.(Brandon Sloter/Getty Images)
But, with no long-term deal in place for Skubal, the electric starter is set to be one of the top free agents after the season, unless he and the Tigers don’t figure something out before then. It seems unlikely that will happen at this point.
All teams interested in Skubal will be watching his recovery and eventual return closely. Until then, Hinch and the Tigers will need others to step up in the meantime for the starting rotation.
In their past three games, Forest have remarkably scored 12 times and conceded just twice to improve their goal difference from -12 to -2. It could effectively act as an extra point at the end of the season.
Spurs, on the other hand, followed up a first Premier League win of 2026 last week by earning a vital victory against a much-changed Aston Villa side on Sunday night.
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After three matchdays in the relegation zone, the win meant Spurs, last season’s Europa League winners, climbed out of the bottom three and leapfrogged West Ham.
Speaking on Monday Night Club, former Manchester City and Newcastle United goalkeeper Shay Given said: “It’s so tight now. It’s between two, realistically. The rest are home and dry. Maybe not mathematically, but they are done and dusted.
“It’s a huge week for Tottenham. Forget about the tactics, forget about the managers, forget about the boardroom. It’s about the result. It’s three points – the lift that will give the lads.
“Imagine them going into training today. A few weeks back, the Spurs stadium has been nearly empty towards the end of games. You could see them in the away end yesterday – the place was rocking.
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“It’s just that feeling, the human feeling of ‘we’ve won a game of football. We’re out of the relegation zone. We’ve flipped with West Ham‘.”
However, it is not all doom and gloom for the Hammers despite their precarious position.
They have actually improved significantly in the past three months and, since suffering back-to-back defeats in January, have only lost four of their past 14 Premier League matches.
But if any club are aware that it can sometimes be too little, too late, then it is West Ham.
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The east Londoners have the unwanted record of accumulating the most points in the final eight games of the season (15) of any side to be relegated from the Premier League.
In more recent times, Newcastle United – the last team to be relegated from the Premier League with 36 points or more – hold the record for the longest unbeaten run at the end of a season (six games) by a team relegated to the Championship.
If Forest, Spurs and West Ham maintain their current run of form, one of the three could end the season with a similarly unwanted place in the Premier League record books.
Moses Itauma was originally set to return on July 25 in London, however the announcement of Anthony Joshua’s ‘warm-up’ fight against Kristian Prenga on the same date in Saudi Arabia has forced a change.
The Franklin fight was postponed from January due to Itauma suffering a bicep tear in training camp. Had it gone ahead as planned, he could have guaranteed three fights in 2026. That is still possible, however he has now been forced to move from July to August due to a date clash with former unified champion Joshua, who is fighting this summer with a view to then announcing his long-awaited clash with Tyson Fury for the end of the year.
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Speaking on the Ariel Helwani show, promoter Frank Warren confirmed that his young charge will now move to August 8, and that the show will still be at London’s O2 Arena. Itauma will headline, and there are talks ongoing with potential opponents but nothing is signed yet.
Itauma is ranked number one with both the WBA and WBO, five with the IBF and two with the WBC. He has been called out by WBA Regular champion Murat Gassiev, which could be a significant bout if Super champ Oleksandr Usyk soon vacates the belt.
Outside of the immediate title picture, Itauma’s team will also be happy with a top contender who can present a different style or level of danger as he continues to develop.
The Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini story is the loudest but also the quietest story in the NFL, depending on where one looks and who one talks to. Over the past couple of weeks, the style of coverage has been the biggest story beside the story, as fans and pundits have begun to ask questions about why the story isn’t as public as it is.
In a Sunday post on X, NFL expert Tony Farmer floated a theory that Russini could do a lot more damage than running too many stories about her would initially indicate. Farmer didn’t offer any evidence in the video clip, but compared the potential situation to the Epstein files.
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“I compare it to the Epstien Files,” Farmer said. “When people started looking for stuff about Epstein, other people’s names were dragged into it. All of a sudden, Bill Gates has gotta answer questions.
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“Maybe, that’s some of the reason we’re seeing ESPN, that’s 10% owned by the NFL, not wanting to talk about this story, because when we start looking into Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini, other people might get pulled into this situation.”
The Epstein files seemed to reach far beyond what anyone expected initially. If Russini has as much dirt as a reporter who spent years behind the curtain, upsetting her might be the last thing some in the media world may want.
NFL analyst doubles down on Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini coverage
Detroit Lions v Minnesota Vikings – NFL 2025 – Source: Getty
Tony Farmer didn’t leave his thoughts on the Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini only in video form. The analyst made a text-only post on Sunday, the same day as the video, expanding on his thoughts about the situation with Drake Maye’s coach and Dianna Russini.
“Vrabel’s conflict was the fact that she was one of 50 COTY voters,” he posted. “Russini’s conflict is the fact that he is her journalistic source. ESPN’s conflict is its 10% owned by the NFL and Russini is their former employee. Specific journalists (Zolak, etc.) conflicts = friendship with Russini and Vrabel.
“The NFL’s conflict is that this situation can harm its credibility.”
The comments indicate that Farmer will continue to speak on the issue until the story is concluded. Considering the size, scope and potential of the story, don’t expect radio silence any time soon.
New England Patriots fans wait to learn what’s next for Russini, if and when she speaks publicly about what happened and where she will be hired next. Many believe her career has another act, but the question is where and how her next chapter will begin.
Minnesota Vikings cornerback Isaiah Rodgers (2) displayed his cleats Sep 21, 2025, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during pregame at U.S. Bank Stadium before facing the Cincinnati Bengals. The detailed footwear close-up highlighted Rodgers’ personalized style as he prepared for the divisional matchup, capturing a glimpse of player individuality alongside team readiness in the hours leading to kickoff. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images.
In the NFL, players are hired to be fired. Still, the Desmond Ridder saga is pretty wild.
The former Vikings passer was brought over to Wisconsin to function as young, cheap depth for Jordan Love. No longer. Matt LaFleur has opted to bring his team in a different direction, uplifting Tyrod Taylor — in fairness, a strong veteran — as the preferred backup option.
Former Vikings Passer Desmond Ridder Shown the Door
Tom Pelissero offers the news, as is his wont.
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A simple update from the league insider: “Veteran QB Tyrod Taylor is signing with the Packers, per source. A new No. 2 in Green Bay.” Shortly thereafter, Pelissero reveals the immediate side effect of adding Taylor: “Corresponding move: The Packers are releasing QB Desmond Ridder, per source.”
Sep 21, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Desmond Ridder (5) warms up prior to a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images
Oftentimes, the NFL conducts pretty simple math. Going +1 with Tyrod Taylor means going -1 on Desmond Ridder. Rosters have limited openings, a truth that still applies in the offseason.
Sitting atop the depth chart in Green Bay is Mr. Love, the 27-year-old quarterback who flirts with being a top-ten NFL passer. He has been the starter for three years but has missed time in consecutive seasons, elevating the need for a competent backup. Signing Taylor makes sense.
When Love is healthy, Taylor can be a coach in shoulder pads. After all, Taylor has been in the NFL since 2011, playing in 100 games along the way (while serving as sideline depth in many more). He’ll prove very helpful when working the tablet on the bench.
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Seeing Love succumb to injury, were that to occur, involves Green Bay being able to elevate Taylor at a moment’s notice. He is, in essence, the Green Bay version of Carson Wentz. Both are passers who have seen it all, offering value as low-maintenance options who won’t need a ton of time and prep in practice to play competent ball. Something to be said for that, folks.
Meanwhile, Desmond Ridder is looking for work, which is familiar territory for him. Pulling up his NFL history means seeing stops with the Atlanta Falcons, Arizona Cardinals, Cincinnati Bengals, Las Vegas Raiders, Minnesota Vikings, and Green Bay Packers. Soon enough, another NFL team is going to come calling.
The good news for Ridder is that he’s a 6’4″ quarterback who got chosen in the 3rd back in the 2022 NFL Draft. He is good enough to get chances with NFL teams even if his upside now appears to hit a ceiling as being a practice squad player or (at best) a QB3.
In all likelihood, the absolute best thing he could do is prove to be a monster at digesting the playbook, breaking down film, encouraging the starter, developing young fellas (if applicable), keeping the locker room upbeat, repackaging + regurgitating the coaching staff’s central messages, and so on. Offering limited on-field value means needing to find a different way to add value. Being the QB3/4 means needing to be elite from an intangibles perspective.
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Sep 17, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder (9) reacts with teammates after running for a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers during the second half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
In theory, the Vikings could make a move for Ridder, but that appears unlikely without there being some sort of injury turmoil. The 2025 season involved Wentz getting hurt while J.J. McCarthy struggled to stay out of the infirmary. Those less-than-ideal circumstances led to Ridder getting signed, but Minnesota did eventually move on in favor of John Wolford.
The QB battle now comes down to McCarthy going toe-to-toe (arm-to-arm?) with Kyler Murray. Most foresee a future where Murray wins the competition, but we’ll see how things go. Minnesota’s ongoing desire is to see the No. 10 selection become the franchise passer. What’s changed within the internal calculus is the assumption that he can become that player.
Solidifying the depth is Mr. Wentz alongside Max Brosmer, who looks like a candidate to be a future depth passer but likely not too much else.
Desmond Ridder, 26, will be looking to jump into his next opportunity within his ongoing game of NFL hopscotch.
MJF referenced Cody Rhodes online. He did so as he slammed a former WWE star.
MJF is one of the best professional wrestlers in the world. He first gained traction in AEW, where he grew to become one of the biggest heels in the company. Maxwell also went on to win the AEW World Championship twice. The Salt of the Earth doesn’t shy away from confrontation online and is always known for speaking his mind. He isn’t afraid to run his mouth and take shots at anyone, including Val Venis.
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Hence, when Val Venis tried to take a dig at Maxwell Jacob Friedman on social media, the former World Champion responded by posting a screenshot of one of Cody Rhodes’ tweets from eight years ago, where he fired some serious shots at Disco Inferno. Maxwell was hinting that the same applied to Val Venis as well. Cody’s tweet read as follows:
“Stop. You know nothing. You have drawn 0 dollars. No fan has ever left a show thinking about you. You were lucky to be a juiced up double-lifer “over with the boys” type in an era where you hid in plain sight coasting on others’ success. Couldn’t hang then, can’t get booked now.”
Check out his tweet here:
MJF seemingly confirmed that Britt Baker is never returning to AEW
Britt Baker has been absent from AEW TV since November 2024. This has caused many fans to wonder if she will ever return to Tony Khan’s promotion.
A fan recently took to social media to say that he was bored of the current product. In response, MJF asked the fan to tune into the women’s division by highlighting several stars. He also mentioned that Mercedes Mone and Toni Storm will also be making their return soon. However, he omitted Britt Baker’s name from the list, indicating that she is not returning soon.
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“@AEW Kris stat. Willow. Persephone. Megan bayne. Athena. Windsor. Jaime Hayter. Shafir. Maya world. Mina. Queen aminata. Skye blue. Thekla. Zayda steel. Red velvet. Hyan. Shida. Harley. Ana Jay. To name a few. Girls that will come back. Mercedes mone. Toni storm. Diamanté. Penelope ford. No big deal,” wrote Max.
It will be interesting to see what’s next for Britt Baker.
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NEW DELHI: Rohit Sharma scored 84 on his return from injury and Ryan Rickelton made 83 as Mumbai Indians beat Lucknow Super Giants by six wickets in Mumbai in their IPL 2026 match on Monday.The two openers added 143 runs for the first wicket, their third century stand in the IPL, and set up the chase. Mumbai Indians chased down 229 after LSG had scored 228 for five, finishing at 229 for four in 18.4 overs.Earlier, Nicholas Pooran scored 63 off 21 balls to lift LSG after a slowdown in the middle overs. He took advantage of loose bowling from MI.Rohit had missed five matches due to a hamstring injury he picked up against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on April 12. He hit seven sixes and six fours in his 44-ball innings, while Rickelton continued his run of form.Rickelton was dismissed in the 11th over by Mohsin Khan after hitting two sixes. Rohit looked set for a hundred but was caught at short fine leg in the 14th over off Manimaran Siddharth, who finished with 2 for 47.Tilak Varma scored 11, while stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav made 12 before getting out near the boundary again. Naman Dhir remained not out on 23 and Will Jacks was unbeaten on 10 as MI completed the chase.Mumbai Indians scored around 50 runs in the first five overs before Rohit attacked in the sixth over, hitting 21 runs off Avesh Khan with a mix of fours and sixes.Highest targets chased down in IPL
265 – PBKS vs DC, Delhi, 2026
262 – PBKS vs KKR, Kolkata, 2024
246 – SRH vs PBKS, Hyderabad, 2025
244 – SRH vs MI, Wankhede, 2026
229 – SRH vs RR, Jaipur, 2026
229 – MI vs LSG, Wankhede, 2026*
The previous highest target chased by MI was 221 runs against KKR at the same venue earlier this season.Rickelton also scored freely, starting with a six off Mohsin and playing shots against both pace and spin.For LSG, Pooran’s 63 off 20 balls helped them post 228 for five. He hit eight sixes and a four. Mitchell Marsh scored 44 off 25 balls.Jasprit Bumrah went wicketless, conceding 45 runs and overstepping three times. Corbin Bosch took 2 for 20 and slowed LSG in the middle overs when they looked set for more than 240.Bumrah conceded 21 runs in the fourth over, where Marsh hit him for boundaries. In the powerplay, Pooran attacked Will Jacks with three sixes and later hit two sixes and a four off AM Ghazanfar in the sixth over. LSG reached 90 for one in six overs, which is the joint second-highest powerplay score by a visiting team against MI at this ground.Pooran, who had not scored a fifty in his last 17 innings, reached his half-century in 16 balls with a six off Deepak Chahar. He and Marsh added 94 runs for the second wicket in 35 balls. At 123 for one after eight overs, LSG were in control.Bosch then removed both Pooran and Marsh in the same over. LSG slipped from 123 for one to 160 for four in 12 overs. It could have been 160 for five, but Bumrah overstepped when Himmat Singh was caught behind. Himmat stayed not out on 40 and added 68 runs with Aiden Markram, who made 31 not out.
Terence Crawford hung up the gloves without suffering a defeat, but there is one former world champion who believes that he would have knocked ‘Bud’ out, if they had been able to agree to a fight.
Crawford’s superstardom skyrocketed during his final fights, becoming a multi-divisional undisputed champion with a spectacular stoppage victory over welterweight rival Errol Spence Jr to finally receive the plaudits that his skill merited.
A win over Israil Madrimov further proved Crawford’s talent, but it was his history-making triumph over Canelo Alvarez that saw the Omaha operator recognised as a true pound-for-pound great.
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However, before moving up to super-welterweight and facing Madrimov, Crawford had been linked to a showdown with 147lb up-and-comer Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, who went on to become a unified welterweight world champion.
Speaking to The Daily Mail, the Philadelphian shared his belief that he would have knocked Crawford out if they ever came to blows, when quizzed on how their fight would have played out.
“[It would have ended with] me, victorious. I’m stopping [him and] anybody, for sure.
“That ain’t [just] what I am supposed to say, that is what I know. I am like that. Everybody that knows me, that is around me, knows that the higher the occasion is, the higher the event is, the stakes – you know how I get. I start tweaking, I get nasty.”
Patrick Mahomes finds himself learning fresh lessons as he heads into an age 31 season. Coming off the oft-dreaded late-season ACL tear in 2025, Mahomes is under pressure to be ready for Week 1. Not only that, but opponents will push him into testing what will be his recently-healed knee. In the moment, Mahomes will be forced to choose between risking his health or not.
In a Monday Pro Football Talk post, NFL analyst Mike Florio expressed his opinion that Mahomes would not take it easy on the gridiron, even if it is in his best interest in the long term.
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“Limitations don’t matter,” Florio said. “Restrictions don’t matter. Nothing is going to stop Patrick Mahomes from playing. The moment he thinks he’s good to go, he will do everything in his power to get on the field and play the game the way he always has. He does not reside in his fears. He will embrace the risk of a potential injury.
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“He is not going to sacrifice a season of football worrying about an injury that would sacrifice a season of football. So when he’s back in uniform and you see him on the field, don’t worry about Patrick Mahomes because he won’t be. He’ll go out there and do everything that we’ve always seen him do the moment he’s ready to go.”
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Mahomes finished his 2025 campaign with a 6-8 record, the worst winning percentage of his career. Following the downturn and in wake of the injury, the Chiefs picked up some new quarterbacks in case they are needed to start the season.
Chiefs add multiple quarterbacks amid Patrick Mahomes’ injury situation
Los Angeles Chargers v Kansas City Chiefs – NFL 2025 – Source: Getty
While the Chiefs decided to keep Chris Oladokun on the roster for the moment heading into 2026, the team’s moves suggest that the franchise has chosen to avoid putting everything on Mahomes’ recovery going perfectly. The Chiefs welcomed Justin Fields, a quarterback with a record of starting games (15 starts since the start of 2024) to back Mahomes.
Fields has thrown 12 touchdowns and two interceptions since he left the Chicago Bears after the 2023 season.
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The Chiefs also spent a draft pick on a quarterback in the 2026 NFL draft in the form of Garrett Nussmeier, who was taken in the seventh round at pick No. 249. Nussmeier threw for 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 2024. Put simply, the Chiefs have taken steps in case Mahomes is not ready or in case (as Mike Florio alluded to) he puts himself in one too many dangerous situations too soon.
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