The Chiefs’ offensive line keeps handing out questions, and Andy Reid isn’t offering many answers.
Kansas City benched left guard Kingsley Suamataia against the Denver Broncos, and Reid’s explanation amounted to little more than a shrug. According to a report from Nate Taylor of ESPN, the coach said the move was not punishment, then tried to shut the door on the conversation.
"This is just between Kingsley and I," Reid added when Taylor followed up on the initial questions. "It's not something that's earth-shattering. I'll just keep it there."
That only deepened the mystery around Suamataia, who was benched for the second time this season. He also dealt with issues last season, but the exact reason for this latest move remains unclear.
The timing made it even stranger. Suamataia was a full participant in the Chiefs’ three practices last week, Taylor reported, and he was not listed on the injury report.
Yet when pregame warmups began, backup guard Mike Caliendo was taking most of the left guard reps with the rest of the starting offensive line. Caliendo then played all 69 of Kansas City’s offensive snaps, while Suamataia logged only five snaps on special teams.
The switch did not exactly settle anything on the field. Running back Kenneth Walker III had another difficult outing, finishing with 69 yards on 21 carries. Then, on the final play of the game, Caliendo was the one who struggled in pass protection, allowing quarterback Patrick Mahomes to step up in the pocket and into the waiting arms of Malcolm Roach for the sack that ended it.
This was not the first time Reid had moved on from Suamataia. The earlier benching came against the Las Vegas Raiders, when Reid said he and the guard were just “working some things out.” Taylor also reported that Suamataia is likely to be back in the lineup against the New York Jets this week, which means the uncertainty around the situation is still very much alive.
And it is not happening in a vacuum. Josh Simmons was ejected last week and then placed on IR, and with Kansas City now riding back-to-back losses, the state of the offensive line has become impossible to ignore.
Reid will have to face the questions again during his media availability in the middle of the week. When a team is winning, vague answers can pass for restraint. When the losses pile up, they only make the silence louder.
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