The Kansas City Chiefs have spent the last month and change sorting through real questions, not just going through the motions. Since rookies and quarterbacks reported to St.
Joseph on July 24, they’ve put in 21 practices and played two preseason games. Now they get one last look Friday night, when they host the Seattle Seahawks in their final warmup of 2026.
And even with all that work in the books, there are still decisions hanging in the air.
One of the biggest involves the defensive line, where the Chiefs are waiting on Ashton Gillotte as he works back from a ruptured plantar fascia. That puts even more pressure on the depth behind George Karlaftis.
Still, the group may be settling into place. Rookie R Mason Thomas has kept making noise, piling up four quarterback pressures and nearly picking off a pass Saturday at Tampa Bay.
Felix Anudike-Uzomah has also turned heads after a rough start to his career and a severe hamstring injury last year that required surgery and ended his season before it began. He not only recorded the Chiefs’ first sack of the preseason against Tampa Bay, but defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo called him the overall defensive player of the game Tuesday.
“He’s in better shape, and he’s more physical and more explosive,” defensive line coach Joe Cullen said last week.
Spagnuolo said he had been “leery” about Anudike-Uzomah’s hamstring at one point, but he’s seen that hesitation fade. Of the sack, he said it was the kind of play “that usually gets things out of your head.
So that’s a good thing. Hopefully he can build on that ...”
That would be a welcome step for a player the Chiefs drafted to become more than just depth.
The back end of the roster is just as unsettled. Under Andy Reid, the Chiefs have usually carried 25 or 26 offensive players on the initial 53-man roster, and that number could decide whether they can keep a full group at running back and tight end.
Three quarterbacks appears to be the direction, with rookie Garrett Nussmeier earning a spot through his preseason work. The Chiefs have generally kept six wide receivers and nine or 10 offensive linemen.
If they go with nine linemen, that leaves room for eight combined running backs and tight ends. Add another lineman or receiver, though, and the math starts to get tight.
Kenneth Walker is leading the running back group, while Emari Demarcado, Brashard Smith and rookie Emmett Johnson each bring something different as the Chiefs try to improve the run game. At tight end, Travis Kelce and Noah Gray are the known pieces, with Jared Wiley and Jake Briningstool battling for jobs.
The bigger offensive question may be the simplest one: who is the go-to receiver?
Two years ago, the Chiefs thought they had answered that with Rashee Rice. He looked every bit like a future No. 1 for three weeks before the knee injury hit.
Then came the suspension for the street race in Dallas. Then, this offseason, another knee rehabilitation while in jail.
Rice has been practicing fully, but he has not played in a preseason game. He was clearly still working back from the knee injury early in camp, and the Chiefs still have to figure out what they can realistically expect from him now.
Can they count on him as Patrick Mahomes’ top target? That’s one way to frame it. The other is even more direct: if not Rice, then who?
Xavier Worthy also has not appeared in a preseason game. Cyrus Allen is a rookie.
Travis Kelce will be 37 years old before the Chiefs play their fourth game. And the recent production tells a blunt story: the Chiefs have not had a player top 1,000 receiving yards in the last three seasons, and they haven’t finished better than 15th in scoring in any of those three years.
In Mahomes’ first five seasons, by contrast, the Chiefs averaged a third-place offensive ranking and had at least one receiver reach 1,200 yards every year. The offense has looked best when it has a clear passing-game centerpiece, but camp has not yet shown that player is on the roster.
The defensive back room is another spot with pieces in place and a few spots still up for grabs. Since Spagnuolo took over in 2019, the Chiefs have usually kept nine or 10 defensive backs and have never started a season with 11 or more. They’ve always opened with at least four safeties, though they haven’t carried five since 2020.
Eight defensive backs already look secure. At corner, Mansoor Delane and Nohl Williams are the outside starters, with Chris Roland-Wallace first at nickel.
If L’Jarius Sneed is able to get on the field, Spagnuolo will find a way to use him, and rookie nickel Jadon Canady also has draft capital working in his favor. That makes five corners.
At safety, Chamarri Conner and Alohi Gilman are the starters, with Jaden Hicks coming off an encouraging preseason. That’s three safeties, and undrafted free agent Xavier Nwankpa has likely done enough to make the roster. Still, Roland-Wallace’s ability to play safety complicates that path, and Conner’s cornerback background adds another wrinkle.
If the Chiefs do keep a sixth corner, Kristian Fulton, Melvin Smith, Kevin Knowles, Kader Kohou and Kair Elam are the names in that order. Fulton is the toughest cut on salary alone, since releasing the six-year veteran would leave $8 million in dead money while opening up $5 million in cap space.
But during camp, Spagnuolo seemed to prefer Smith over Fulton. Knowles has also made a quiet case, helped by his value on every special-teams phase.
So Friday’s finale may still matter quite a bit. The roster math is not finished, and the final preseason game could still push a few of these decisions one way or another.
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Patrick Mahomes Keeps One Training Camp Rule No Matter What
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Chiefs Suddenly Have A Left Tackle Problem At The Worst Time
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The Chiefs also added some depth by acquiring Joshua Ezeudu in a trade with the New York Giants, but it is still unclear whether he will be ready to suit up right away. With a new starter at the position and another fresh face still working into the picture, the left side of the line has become a sudden issue for a team trying to keep its footing at a key point in the schedule. [Read more 🡒]