While preseason games primarily showcase squad depth, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid briefly broke routine against the Rams. His micro-experiment? Getting key starters like new RB Kenneth Walker III and DT Chris Jones on the field early. They lasted exactly one snap. Walker accepted his quick night without a fuss. Jones, however, was a different story. Shaking his head on the sideline, the defensive cornerstone looked genuinely bothered.

“Chris Jones was itching to stay out there 😭,’”the NFL’s official account wrote, posting the video of Chris Jones from the sidelines on Instagram.

Earlier in the week, the Chiefs star had already made his position clear. After Thursday’s practice at Missouri Western State University, Jones said he saw little value in preseason snaps unless Kansas City’s starters were actually facing the opponent’s first-team offense. Against the Rams, that reluctance did not take long to show.

“I hope Coach Reid be like, you know, let the starters… don’t play, you know?” Jones said. “But also, it’s getting reps, repetition. We’ve been playing against each other. It’s good to get repetition, but I don’t want to play preseason. I’d rather not play, but if I do have to play, I’m going to buckle up.”

True to his word, Jones buckled up, though his reluctance made total sense given the sheer workload he’d already logged. His comments came right after Kansas City’s 14th training-camp practice, capping a brutal stretch of eight padded sessions in ten days where he went head-to-head daily with familiar interior stars like Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith. 

Yet, despite Jones’ clear preference to save himself for the regular season, Andy Reid and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo were determined to give their defensive anchor at least one live-game rep. Their attempt at a middle ground backfired: pulling him after a single play left him caught in the ultimate preseason paradox. And frankly, who can blame him?

At this point in his career, Jones has absolutely nothing left to prove in August. For a 32-year-old entering his 11th season with 155 regular-season games, 87.5 career sacks, seven straight Pro Bowl selections, and three Super Bowl rings, Kansas City already knows exactly what it has in Chris Jones.

He went a step further, explaining exactly why facing real starters matters to him.

 “The mentality is like, I want to play against their starters, you know what I mean? I want to play against the guys that are going to be starting on Sunday because, one, you like to weigh yourself out, where I’m at, where I improve, and give me your best talent,” he said. “So it kind of can change the dynamic. But anytime we get on that field, you’ve got to give your best.”

Jones’ one-snap cameo may have looked strange, but Kansas City has done this before with established stars. Patrick Mahomes offered a clear example in the Chiefs’ 2025 preseason opener against Arizona, when he played just one offensive series which lasted 48 seconds before Andy Reid shut him down. The first-team offense needed only two snaps to score, and Reid later said the starters looked “sharp.” A year later, the same logic applied to Jones. Kansas City did not need a long exhibition sample to learn anything new about either player. Mahomes got one series. Jones got one snap.

That’s especially notable coming off a season where he was one of the league’s most productive interior linemen, racking up 63 pressures in 17 games, the third-most at his position, while leading the Chiefs in QB hits (25), tackles for loss (12), and sacks (7).

Up next for Kansas City is a preseason matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, followed by the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, before the regular season opens against division rival Denver. It remains to be seen how much action Jones will see on the field.

While Jones didn’t really get a chance to show his form, some performances stood out.

How the Chiefs performed in their preseason opener against the Rams

The Kansas City Chiefs opened their 2026 preseason with a 20-12 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, and the game looked exactly like August football usually does. Most of the stars barely saw the field, the stadium was far from full, and the night belonged largely to players fighting for roster spots.

On offense, rookie running back Emmett Johnson picked up 59 yards on 12 carries. Rookie quarterback Garrett Nussmeier got extensive run under center, completing 13 of 19 passes for 98 yards.

Second-year tight end Jake Briningstool led all Chiefs receivers with 29 yards on three catches.

Up front, Jaylon Moore seems to be pulling ahead in the right tackle competition, especially with Khalil Benson sliding over to right guard while Trey Smith sits out with a hip injury. Rookie receiver Cyrus Allen kept the training-camp hype going with a contested catch late in the second quarter, just missing out on a touchdown when a defender knocked the ball away at the last second.

Safety Jaden Hicks made a strong case for his roster spot with a team-high seven tackles, filling in for an injured Chamarri Conner. On the defensive line, first-round pick Peter Woods was quiet statistically while nursing an ankle injury, but second-rounder R Mason Thomas flashed real promise with a tackle for loss, a pass breakup, and a quarterback hit.

The good news? Kansas City walked away mostly healthy, with only backup tackle Chukwuebuka Godrick exiting due to an ankle issue. That said, the offensive line still has work to do after racking up ten penalties on the day.

What went wrong?

The Chiefs racked up a staggering 12 penalties for 83 lost yards, starkly contrasting the Rams’ disciplined four-flag night. Most of those self-inflicted wounds came directly from the second- and third-string offensive line units, with players like Hunter Nourzad, Mike Caliendo, and Logan Driskell constantly putting the offense behind the chains.

The messy night started almost immediately. On the team’s opening drive, quarterback Justin Fields connected with wide receiver Cyrus Allen on a clean catch-and-run to move the chains. But second-year receiver Jalen Royals was whistled for offensive pass interference. That instantly killed the drive’s rhythm. 

Adding to the problems, a critical holding call on Hunter Nourzad wiped out a 4-yard touchdown run by rookie running back Emmett Johnson in the second quarter. Instead of scoring six points, the Chiefs had to settle for a Harrison Butker field goal. 

As usual, Andy Reid was quick to point out his team’s mistake during the post-game conference. 

“Penalties,” Reid said. “That would be the No. 1 thing to be cleaned up.” 

Reid doesn’t need his team to look perfect during preseason tests. He needs to discover what isn’t working while there’s still time to fix it.