The Kansas City Chiefs have decided to bench their starting left guard, Kingsley Suamataia, before their clash against the Denver Broncos. Instead, head coach Andy Reid relied on Mike Caliendo to start the game.
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“Here in Denver, Mike Caliendo is taking reps at left guard with the first team,” Chiefs beat writer Pete Sweeney wrote on X. “The Chiefs have confirmed it’s a “coach’s decision” on Kingsley Suamataia. Mike Caliendo set to start at left guard.”
This is the second time Reid sidelined Suamataia and favored Caliendo. The Week 4 game against the Las Vegas Raiders was the last time Reid went with Caliendo. Reid stayed silent regarding his decision.
“As far as the Kingsley thing goes: Before you ask, that’s between Kingsley and I,” Reid stayed elusive as he weighed in on the last-minute Week 4 swap. “But we’ll figure it out, and down the road, we’ll be better as a team for it, and Kingsley will be better for it.”
Kansas City decided to bench a 2024 second-round pick even though he has played 309 offensive snaps as a left guard. According to PFF, Suamataia has an overall rating of 60.0 with an impressive 67.8 pass-blocking grade, putting him in 27th position out of 75 qualified guards. Across five games, he allowed just one sack, two quarterback hits, and five total pressures. However, he got three penalties, including a costly fourth-quarter penalty in the Chiefs’ Week 7 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Meanwhile, Caliendo is a fifth-year veteran with only 72 snaps this season. Out of those, only 66 snaps were at left guard, mostly from Week 4. As per PFF, he has an overall grade of 67.3, with a 60.7 pass-blocking grade and a 66.6 run-blocking grade.
Kansas City desperately missed Suamataia’s 6-foot-6, 315-pound frame in the trenches. The Broncos’ front seven held Kenneth Walker III to just 69 yards on 21 carries (3.3 yards per rush), helping Bo Nix rally Denver from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit (24-13) with two late touchdowns to snatch a 28-24 win.
However, the last-minute swap, ultimately, didn’t really work for the Chiefs. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes finished with 321 passing yards and three touchdowns. But Zack Allen recorded three quarterback hits, while Alex Singleton sacked Mahomes in the fourth quarter. Furthermore, Malcolm Roach ended Mahomes’ quest for a comeback with a sack in the last four seconds remaining in the final play.
Andy Reid benched Kingsley Suamataia to apparently discipline him in Week 4
Regarding the Week 4 win over the Raiders, the Chiefs head coach hinted that he sidelined Suamataia for disciplinary reasons. However, the exact details are still unknown to the public.
“The team has not told me directly that is indeed the case, but I haven’t gotten a full denial that it wasn’t disciplinary,” ESPN insider Nate Taylor said. “It was very disciplinary related, from what I can understand.
“I don’t think Kingsley missed the flight. I haven’t heard that… Something happened Saturday from what I understand. It wasn’t anything that happened in Vegas. I did get a chance to talk to Mike Caliendo, and Caliendo, based off what I can understand, he probably found out midday Saturday.”
Nevertheless, Suamataia returned to the starting lineup after the Week 5 bye to start against the Chargers and the Seahawks. By benching Suamataia twice in five weeks during a two-game skid, the Chiefs’ coaching staff has sparked serious doubts about whether they still trust him.
For now, all eyes stayed on Reid’s postgame press conference to see if he sheds any further light on Suamataia’s long-term role after the 28-24 loss.