The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League (NFL). Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL). In 1963, the team moved to Kansas City, Missouri and were renamed the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Chiefs have had 57 different quarterbacks attempt a pass, 39 different starting quarterbacks, and 19 different quarterbacks start at least 10 games. Eleven different quarterbacks have been named to either the AFL All-Star team or Pro Bowl for a total of 25 selections. Five of those quarterbacks have been name All-Star or Pro Bowl multiple times. Eleven of the Chiefs starting quarterbacks have led the Chiefs to the playoffs, however, only five have won a playoff game. Patrick Mahomes has been the Chiefs' starting quarterback since 2018. Mahomes has been the full-time starting quarterback since the beginning of the 2018 season, when he broke multiple single season team records and became the first Chiefs player to win MVP. However, after Mahomes and backup QB Gardner Minshew III injured themselves in December of 2025, Their emergency 3rd quarterback Chris Oladokun became the starter while they recover. Cotton Davidson was the team's first starting quarterback. He played all 14 games for the Texans in their inaugural 1960 season.Herb, Kuhbander, Looney, and Moris. p. 400 Davidson played with the franchise from 1960 to 1962, and was traded in 1963 to the Oakland Raiders. Len Dawson signed with the Chiefs (then known as the Texans) on July 2, 1962, and played for the franchise for 14 seasons.Herb, Kuhbander, Looney, and Moris. p. 417 With Dawson as the team's starter, the Texans/Chiefs won three American Football League championships and appeared in two Super Bowl championship games. Dawson was named Most Valuable Player after the Chiefs' victory in Super Bowl IV and retired in 1975 with several franchise records. Three quarterbacks currently in the Pro Football Hall of Fame have started at least one game for Kansas City: Dawson, Joe Montana, and Warren Moon. The most quarterbacks started in one season was five in 1987, however, this was primarily due to the player strike that led to teams using replacement players. The Chiefs have had the same quarterback start every game in a season 15 times. Trent Green started the most consecutive games with 81. Mahomes and Dawson are the only quarterbacks to lead the Chiefs to the Super Bowl, I and IV for Dawson and LIV, LV, LVII, LVIII, and LIX for Mahomes, with the Chiefs winning IV, LIV, LVII, and LVIII.
Starting quarterbacks by season
Regular-season
The number of games started in the season by each player is listed in small parentheses. Statistics do not include postseason starts.
14 game seasons Season Quarterback(s) Reference(s)Dallas Texans 1960–19621960 Cotton Davidson (12) / Hunter Enis (2) 1961 Cotton Davidson (12) / Randy Duncan (2) 1962 Len Dawson (14) Kansas City Chiefs 1963–present1963 Len Dawson (13) / Eddie Wilson (1) 1964 Len Dawson (14) 1965 Len Dawson (12) / Pete Beathard (2) 1966 Len Dawson (14) 1967 Len Dawson (14) 1968 Len Dawson (13) / Jacky Lee (1) 1969 Len Dawson (7) / Jacky Lee (1) / Mike Livingston (6) 1970 Len Dawson (12) / Mike Livingston (2) 1971 Len Dawson (13) / Mike Livingston (1) 1972 Len Dawson (12) / Mike Livingston (2) 1973 Mike Livingston (8) / Len Dawson (6) 1974 Len Dawson (8) / Mike Livingston (6) 1975 Mike Livingston (7) / Len Dawson (5) / Tony Adams (2) 1976 Mike Livingston (14) 1977 Mike Livingston (11) / Tony Adams (3)
16 game seasons Season Quarterback(s) Reference(s)1978 Mike Livingston (14) / Tony Adams (2) 1979 Mike Livingston (4) / Steve Fuller (12) 1980 Steve Fuller (13) / Bill Kenney (3) 1981 Bill Kenney (13) / Steve Fuller (3) 1982 Bill Kenney (6) / Steve Fuller (3) 1983 Bill Kenney (16) 1984 Todd Blackledge (8) / Bill Kenney (8) 1985 Bill Kenney (10) / Todd Blackledge (6) 1986 Todd Blackledge (8) / Bill Kenney (8) 1987 Bill Kenney (8) / Frank Seurer (2) / Todd Blackledge (2) / Matt Stevens (2) / Doug Hudson (1) 1988 Bill Kenney (5) / Steve DeBerg (11) 1989 Steve DeBerg (10) / Ron Jaworski (3) / Steve Pelluer (3) 1990 Steve DeBerg (16) 1991 Steve DeBerg (15) / Mark Vlasic (1) 1992 Dave Krieg (16) 1993 Joe Montana (11) / Dave Krieg (5) 1994 Joe Montana (14) / Steve Bono (2) 1995 Steve Bono (16) 1996 Steve Bono (13) / Rich Gannon (3) 1997 Elvis Grbac (10) / Rich Gannon (6) 1998 Elvis Grbac (6) / Rich Gannon (10) 1999 Elvis Grbac (16) 2000 Elvis Grbac (15) / Warren Moon (1) 2001 Trent Green (16) 2002 Trent Green (16) 2003 Trent Green (16) 2004 Trent Green (16) 2005 Trent Green (16) 2006 Trent Green (8) / Damon Huard (8) 2007 Damon Huard (10) / Brodie Croyle (6) 2008 Brodie Croyle (3) / Damon Huard (2) / Tyler Thigpen (11) 2009 Matt Cassel (15) / Brodie Croyle (1) 2010 Matt Cassel (15) / Brodie Croyle (1)2011 Matt Cassel (9) / Tyler Palko (4) / Kyle Orton (3)2012 Matt Cassel (8) / Brady Quinn (8)2013 Alex Smith (15) / Chase Daniel (1) 2014 Alex Smith (15) / Chase Daniel (1) 2015 Alex Smith (16) 2016 Alex Smith (15) / Nick Foles (1) 2017 Alex Smith (15) / Patrick Mahomes (1) 2018 Patrick Mahomes (16) 2019 Patrick Mahomes (14) / Matt Moore (2) 2020 Patrick Mahomes (15) / Chad Henne
17 game seasons Season Quarterback(s) Reference(s)2021 Patrick Mahomes 2022 Patrick Mahomes 2023 Patrick Mahomes / Blaine Gabbert 2024Patrick Mahomes (16) / Carson Wentz (1)2025Patrick Mahomes (14) / Chris Oladokun (2) / Gardner Minshew (1)2026Patrick Mahomes (3)
Post-season records Quarterback Record Patrick Mahomes 17–4 Len Dawson 5–3 Joe Montana 2–2 Steve DeBerg 1–2 Alex Smith 1–4 Todd Blackledge 0–1 Dave Krieg 0–1 Steve Bono 0–1 Elvis Grbac 0–1 Matt Cassel 0–1 Trent Green 0–2
All-Star/Pro Bowl quarterbacks Quarterback No. of selections Len Dawson 7× Patrick Mahomes 6× Alex Smith 3× Cotton Davidson 2× Trent Green 2× Steve Bono 1× Matt Cassel 1× Elvis Grbac 1× Bill Kenney 1× Mike Livingston 1× Joe Montana 1×
Most games as starting quarterback Only the top 10 are listed below.
RankNameSeasons11962–751581839456822017–present1281289731032001–0688884840041980–88771063443052013–1776765026061968–7975903043171988-91525731201 81997–2000 4749262102009–124819280101979–82 3152131801994–963721100 As of week 2 of the 2026 season
Team career passing leaders Below are the top five quarterbacks in each category throughout their tenure with the Chiefs. Stats are complete through week 2 of the 2026 NFL Season. Yards NameYardsPatrick Mahomes36,505Len Dawson28,507Trent Green21,459Alex Smith17,608Bill Kenney17,277
Touchdowns NameTDs Patrick Mahomes 272 Len Dawson 237 Trent Green 118 Bill Kenney 105 Alex Smith 102
Quarterback rating (minimum 500 attempts) NameRating Patrick Mahomes 100.8 Alex Smith 94.8 Trent Green 87.3 Joe Montana 85.0 Damon Huard 83.3
See also History of the Kansas City Chiefs
Notes : Strikes by the National Football League Players Association in the 1982 and 1987 seasons resulted in shortened seasons (9 and 15-game schedules, respectively). : Replacement quarterbacks Matt Stevens, Frank Seurer, and Doug Hudson started for the Chiefs alongside Kenney and Blackledge following the NFL Players Association strike in 1987. For the only time in team history, five different quarterbacks started in 1987 following the player's strike.
References Kansas City Chiefs Franchise Encyclopedia Kansas City Chiefs all-time starting quarterbacks
General Herb, Patrick, Kuhbander, Brad, Looney, Josh, and Moris, Pete, eds. 2008 Kansas City Chiefs Media Guide, Kansas City Chiefs Football Club, Inc., 2008 Specific