The Chiefs are about to get a starter back where they want him, and that should settle at least one piece of an offensive line that has been in flux.
Andy Reid said Monday that left guard Kingsley Suamataia will return Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers after sitting out Kansas City’s 30-27 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Oct. 4. Mike Caliendo started that game and played the full 60 minutes in Suamataia’s place.
When asked directly whether Suamataia would be back, Reid kept it simple: "Yeah, he'll be back in," Reid said, according to KCTV5.
That was a much clearer answer than the one Reid gave after the Raiders game, when he declined to explain the benching.
"As far as the Kingsley thing goes, before you guys ask, that's between Kingsley and I," Reid said after the Raiders game.
"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."
Now, with Kansas City coming out of its bye week, the expectation is that the former second-round pick will slide right back into the lineup. Suamataia, taken out of BYU in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, came into the league as an offensive tackle.
After a rough rookie season, he shifted to left guard in 2025 and locked down a starting role. He held that job for the Chiefs’ first three games this season before the surprise move against Las Vegas.
Caliendo, who knows the Chiefs’ system, filled in as Kansas City moved to 4-0 with the win over the Raiders.
Suamataia’s return should help bring some stability to a line that has also been dealing with questions at left tackle. Josh Simmons has been out to start the season while recovering from a back injury, and rookie Kahlil Benson has handled the spot in his place. Benson drew praise early, with his showing in the season opener standing out as one of the Chiefs’ early offensive-line bright spots.
Simmons’ availability for the Chargers game is still up in the air. Reid said Monday that Simmons spent the bye week at the team’s facility continuing his rehab, and the Chiefs expect to have a better read on his status when players return Tuesday, according to KCTV5.
For now, the left guard spot looks settled again. After one unexplained week on the sideline, Suamataia appears ready to reclaim his job as the undefeated Chiefs prepare to host the Chargers.
In Other News...
Chiefs Still Have A Left Tackle Problem They Cant Define
Josh Simmons entered the Chiefs plans with plenty of intrigue after a torn patellar tendon two years ago altered his draft path, and his recovery has been watched closely ever since. He did enough in rehab to win the starting job for the first five games of the 2025 season, which at least suggested Kansas City might have found some stability at left tackle after a long search for it.
Instead, the position remains unsettled because Simmons has barely been on the field since arriving in Kansas City. He has played in only eight of the teams 21 games since being drafted, and the club still does not have a clear timetable for when he might be back, leaving the Chiefs to keep sorting out the blind-side spot without a defined answer. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Got The Bye Week Break They Needed Before A Tricky Stretch
The bye week gave Kansas City a chance to sit back, rest up and watch the AFC West landscape shift around it while the Chiefs stayed undefeated at 4-0. Their lead in the division held firm as the Las Vegas Raiders fell to the New England Patriots, even as the Denver Broncos managed to win despite some offensive trouble, a reminder that the standings can look steadier than the football underneath them.
Now the attention turns to the bigger race, where the Chiefs are tracking the Jacksonville Jaguars and Baltimore Ravens as some of the most relevant challengers, with Buffalo still set to take the field on Monday night. The next test on the schedule is a tricky one against the Los Angeles Chargers, and after a week off, Kansas City enters it with a little more clarity on the road ahead and a lot less margin for error. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Unbeaten Start Is Rewriting What Fans Thought About This Roster
The early weeks of the season have given Kansas City a very different kind of storyline than many around the league expected. A perfect 4-0 start has pushed the Chiefs into a place where the usual questions about aging stars and depth pieces have, at least for now, been replaced by evidence that this roster is producing in all the right places. Kenneth Walker III has been one of the biggest drivers of that surge, Travis Kelce has been dependable again, and rookie cornerback Mansoor Delane has already looked like he belongs after going sixth overall.
What makes the opening month especially interesting is how much of this success has come from players who were not penciled in as the main attraction when the season began. Kahlil Benson, in particular, has carved out an unexpected role up front, giving the Chiefs stability at a spot that often decides how far a team can go. The bigger question now is whether this fast start reflects a real reworking of what the roster can be, or just the kind of early-season momentum that still needs to survive the grind ahead. [Read more 🡒]