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. In 1963, the team moved to Kansas City, Missouri and were renamed the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Chiefs have had 33 starting quarterbacks in their franchise's history. Cotton Davidson was the team's first starting quarterback; he played all 14 games for the Texans in their inaugural 1960 season. Davidson played with the franchise from 1960 to 1962, and was traded in 1963 to the Oakland Raiders. Len Dawson signed with on July 2, 1962 and played for the franchise for 14 seasons. 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 future Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinees played for Kansas City: Dawson, Joe Montana, and Warren Moon. In the 2008 season, the Chiefs started three quarterbacks: Brodie Croyle, Damon Huard, and Tyler Thigpen. After Croyle and Huard were sidelined by injuries, Thigpen played in eleven games, winning one and losing ten. In 2009 and 2010, Matt Cassel started 15 of 16 games each season, while Croyle started the other 2 games.
Starting quarterbacks by season
The number of games started in the season by each player is listed in small parentheses. Statistics do not include postseason starts.
Most games as starting quarterback
As of the 2016 season
Most touchdowns
These quarterbacks have the most touchdowns in the Chiefs history as of the 2016 season.
Notes
a : Since the 1978 NFL season, all teams have played 16-game schedules.
b : Strikes by the National Football League Players Association in the 1982 and 1987 seasons resulted in shortened seasons (9 and 15-game schedules, respectively).
c : 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.
d : By Week 3 of the 2008 season, Brodie Croyle, Damon Huard, and Tyler Thigpen had all started one game each. Both Croyle and Huard suffered injuries in their respective starts in Weeks 1 and 2. Thigpen started the Chiefs' Week 3 game against the Falcons, Huard started in Weeks 4 and 5. Croyle returned to start in Week 7 and suffered a season-ending knee injury. Both Croyle and Huard were placed on injured reserve following the game, leading to Thigpen's second start, against the Jets in Week 8. Thigpen was the starting quarterback through the remainder of the season.
References
- Kansas City Chiefs Franchise Encyclopedia
- Kansas City Chiefs all-time starting quarterbacks
