The Kansas City Chiefs have wrapped up their final training camp practice and are all set to face the Los Angeles Rams in their preseason opener this weekend. This leads to an important question: Will head coach Andy Reid play his starters in the preseason? The HC has already admitted that at least one player won’t start against the Rams: quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Now, when Chris Jones was asked whether starters should play in the preseason, the veteran defensive tackle made his choice clear.
“Why play the starters? It’s so much risk you’re taking to play the starters in the preseason,” Jones told the reporters after Thursday’s practice. “I hope Coach Reid be like, ‘You know what? Starters don’t play.’ But also, it’s getting reps, repetition. We’ve been playing against each other. It’s good to get repetition, but I don’t wanna play preseason. I’d rather not play, but if I do have to play, I’m gonna buckle up.”
Chris Jones is 32 and entering the 11th season of his NFL career while remaining the Chiefs’ defensive cornerstone. It’s easy to understand why Jones would prefer to stay healthy rather than risk an injury just weeks before the regular season begins. While the defensive tackle recorded two tackles and half a sack against the Chicago Bears during last year’s preseason, Jones has remained firmly against playing in exhibition games.
At the same time, the Chiefs are facing the Rams on August 15. Historically, Rams head coach Sean McVay rests his starters in the preseason. This could be one of the major reasons why Jones doesn’t want to suit up against Los Angeles this week. While addressing his mentality ahead of the matchup, the DT noted:
“Yeah, 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 you like to weigh yourself out. Where I’m at, where I can improve, and give me your best talent. So it can kind of change the dynamic. But anytime we get on that field, you’ve got to do your best.”
For now, Andy Reid has yet to announce whether he’ll play his starters against the Rams. Meanwhile, the head coach has already confirmed that quarterback Patrick Mahomes will not start, as he’s returning from a serious knee injury after suffering an ACL and LCL tear during the 2025 season.
“There’s a pretty good chance I don’t play him (against the Rams) — percentages are leading that way,” Reid said. “I don’t know that I’d play him in the second or third game. … Percentages probably lean against doing that. We’ve got new people in those other positions behind him that need some work. The more reps they get, the better.”
That said, following the Rams matchup, the Chiefs will play their second preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, followed by the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks, in the preseason finale, before opening their regular season against the division rivals, the Denver Broncos.