Who is Chris Oladokun? 5 facts about Chiefs’ starting QB on Christmas
There’s a new new starting quarterback in Kansas City.
After Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL in his left knee near the end of the Chiefs’ 16-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, Dec. 14, backup quarterback Gardner Minshew injured his knee in Sunday Dec. 21’s 26-9 loss to the Tennessee Titans and is expected to be out for the season.
The Chiefs called up Chris Oladokun from the practice squad in between Mahomes’ and Minshew’s injuries, and now he’s set to finish the regular season. He played most of the game against the Titans, and will be the starting quarterback against the Denver Broncos on Christmas and Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, Jan. 4.
His backup for the rest of the year is Shane Buechele, another familiar face to Chiefs fans.
Where did Oladokun go to college? Has he played in the NFL before? Does he have family ties elsewhere in the league?
Here are five facts about the Chiefs’ quarterback.
A late round NFL Draft pick
Oladokun spent six years in college, playing football with the University of South Florida before transferring to the University of Samford. He was a redshirt his first two years, meaning he still had four years of eligibility to play in college.
After Samford, he played for South Dakota State University as a graduate transfer. He threw for 3,164 yards and 25 touchdowns in his one season as a Jackrabbit, and his efforts got him selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
He’s a two-time Super Bowl champion
Oladokun’s spent most of his NFL career on the practice squad with the Chiefs, signing with them in 2022 after Pittsburgh released him. He’s been waived from the main roster and signed to the practice squad every year since.
When a team wins the Super Bowl, everyone in the organization gets a ring — even the players on the practice squad. Since Oladokun was on the practice squad for the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victories during the 2022 and 2023 seasons, he’s officially credited as a two-time Super Bowl champion.
Not bad for someone who threw his first professional regular season pass attempt against the Titans. Speaking of...
A future Hall of Famer caught his first career pass attempt
Oladokun made his first NFL game appearance during the 2024 season, coming in for the end-of-the-season finale against the Broncos that the Chiefs lost 38-0. He didn’t throw a pass in his five offensive snaps.
Coming in for Minshew after his injury Dec. 21, he completed 11 of 16 passes for 111 yards. The first of those completions went to tight end Travis Kelce, who caught it for 6 yards.
“You’re out there, and my first (NFL) completion is to Travis Kelce,” Oladokun said. “(I’ve) built a great relationship with him over the last couple of years, but if you would have told me my first completion in the NFL was going to be to him, probably would have laughed at you.”
His brother also plays in the NFL
Games against the Los Angeles Chargers are a bit of a family affair for Oladokun. His brother, Jordan, is a cornerback and signed with them as an undrafted free agent in 2025. Jordan Oladokun hasn’t played this year, as he was put on the injured reserve in August.
Like Chris, Jordan also started his college career at Samford in 2021, but he transferred to Bowling Green in 2022.
He’s a history-maker
While the Chiefs lost to the Broncos to end the 2024 season, Oladokun made history in his appearance.
He became the first player of direct African descent to play quarterback in a regular-season game. His father has Nigerian roots. His next game will also be against the Broncos on Christmas, where he has a chance to become the first player of direct African descent to quarterback his team to a victory.
