Chiefs’ Carson Wentz in ‘different’ role backing up Patrick Mahomes: ‘I’ll keep finding ways I can help’

Wentz admitted he’s entering 2024 with a different perspective, knowing he has no shot to unseat the three-time Super Bowl MVP.

“It’s different,” Wentz said. “I’m not going to lie. I’m trying to learn as much as I can as quickly as I can, formulate a relationship with all these guys and just keep getting better on the field. … You’ve got to always be ready to go when called upon, so it’s no different in that regard.”

Mahomes hasn’t missed a game due to injury since the middle of the 2019 season. If that trend continues, Wentz will primarily be tasked with aiding film study and perhaps some mop-up duty.

In the meantime, he’s hoping to learn from the two-time NFL MVP.

“He just processes the game really quickly,” Wentz said of Mahomes. “He calls protections, he’s in and out of the huddle and throwing anticipatory throws, all that stuff, all that stuff you see from afar. But it’s just fun to see it and in some respects just see different windows on plays that maybe you didn’t see before because he’s playing so quickly out there.”

Wentz hopes a year of caddying for Mahomes springboards him back into a potential starting gig in 2025. At the very least, proving he’s willing to be a backup quarterback could elongate his NFL career.