Welcome back to the Arrowhead Pride Mailbag! Throughout the season, keep watching The Feed for an opportunity to submit your questions about the Kansas City Chiefs!
Some individual players shined in the preseason opener against the Los Angeles Rams, but the players who took the field largely underwhelmed in the loss. Let’s see what’s on readers’ minds ahead of this week’s preseason contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
saintschiefsfan asks:
Why did running back Kenneth Walker dress and not get a single carry? What was
the point of defensive tackle Chris Jones playing one snap? Was that head coach Andy Reid’s ”punishment” for him saying he doesn’t want to play in preseason?
My impression is that head coach Andy Reid has moved on from some anachronistic tendencies with starters in the preseason. We used to be able to predict like clockwork when certain players would enter and exit exhibitions. That has not been the case for the last couple of preseason slates.
Perhaps Reid is seeing diminishing value in what you actually see during the game with known players. However, I also think Reid values seeing how the team operates pregame. While the Rams reportedly left most of their noteworthy players at home in Los Angeles, the Chiefs had all nominally available players fully dressed on the sideline. The team went through normal pregame workouts.
Rather than getting any look at what Walker can do with the ball in his hands, I think the coaches wanted to see him in the huddle for the first play. Reid was likely assessing his team’s readiness to start a game.
That said, there is probably an alternate universe where Jones keeps his mouth shut and gets the same treatment as veteran tight end Travis Kelce. Other than newly signed defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah, Kelce was the only player completely scratched on Saturday who wasn’t known to be recovering from a recent injury.
Andyreidsmustache_ asks:
Did we find at least one answer to our WR problem that’s plagued us since Tyreek Hill left in rookie Cyrus Allen?
Allen certainly passed the first test. Two weeks after escaping an injury scare with only a shin bruise, Allen made the starting lineup and was on the field for over half of the offensive snaps. Climbing the ladder to bring in a high pass from quarterback Garrett Nussmeier was easily one of the plays of the game.
Encouragingly, Allen was used strictly on offense, with no special teams snaps. An earlier exit in the next two contests would be an even bigger step forward. There is little value in seeing Allen’s route running against opponents’ deep depth players. We need to see as much action as possible against players who will at least be on 53-man rosters this season.
There’s definitely a chance Allen ends 2026 and enters next season as one of the Chiefs’ starting wideouts. He has done everything the right way so far and looks much more game-ready than previous young wideouts we have seen linger on Kansas City’s bench.
The same wild cards for any young player, however, are still in front of Allen. Namely, health (often via pure dumb luck) is the biggest variable that determines how a player’s career unfolds. If Allen starts seeing the field early, we will also need to wait until opposing defensive staffs have ample game film on him to see what adjustments he can make.
LocoMotorKate asks:
When will we get an adequate run defense?
Hopefully, once the players who will actually be charged with run defense are on the field?
It was not a great showing, to be fair. But some of the players who saw heavy snap counts may not even be good candidates for the Chiefs’ practice squad (and probably saw some of their chances plummet even further).
Starting base defensive end Ashton Gillotte and weakside linebacker Drue Tranquill did not play due to injury. Jones played only the first snap, and middle linebacker Nick Bolton and defensive end George Karlaftis left after three plays. Nose tackle Khyiris Tonga — who will be on the field for obvious run downs — played only five snaps.
The 1797 rushing yards Kansas City allowed in 2025 ranked ninth best in the league. That number is probably actually negatively skewed by the 410 yards allowed on the ground in the final three games after the season was lost.
Given the returning players who have been dependable against the run with what should be a major upgrade inside with Tonga, I don’t think adequate run defense should rank high on concerns about the Chiefs, no matter how the bottom third of the 90-man roster played in 100-degree heat Saturday.
If I were Brett Veach, however, I might scout linebackers and one-tech defensive tackles who could be on the roster bubble at other teams. The Chiefs should want to upgrade from some current deep depth options when building their practice squad (or even the bottom of the 53-man).
kiddrsteve asks:
Being that we play the Rams in regular season, do you feel Andy held back on the play calling. Most play calling very basic. Why kick a FG down 11 with 2 minutes left? Appears he held back going for the TD as he may show something. I don’t think Butker needs practice on extra point FGs
To be fair, Butker missed four extra points in 2025. Missing on what should be the most anticlimactic play in sports also sometimes feels like a precursor to a more serious slump. So, I would definitely like to see him get some extra point tries.
Saturday’s game definitely felt like Reid and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo had certain plays and formations they wanted to see no matter what the Rams were showing on the field. The players on the field trying to keep their football dreams alive assuredly would love an aggressive game plan. In reality, they are often helping the coaches evaluate formations they plan to eventually use with the more talented players on the bench.
Spagnuolo will almost never blitz in the preseason, and this is likely doubly true for opponents he will see again.
For his part, Reid seems to have more of a going-through-the-motions approach to the preseason than he used to, although I genuinely believe he wanted a strong sample from Allen, Nussmeier, and rookie running back Emmett Johnson.
My favorite criticism I have seen online is that the Chiefs were lazy on the onside kick attempt with two minutes remaining. I do not have faith that the special teams staff has a revolutionary idea in the back of their minds for onside kicks. But if they did, preseason would be a terrible time to try it out.
5crawfishdinners asks:
With Nussmeier looking as good as he did, would the Chiefs feel comfortable trading quarterback Justin Fields if a team offered something significant.
Nussmeier should be passed over current No. 2 quarterback Fields on the depth chart is easily the most frequent hot take after Saturday. It’s not going to happen.
Nussmeier played well, but let’s not overreact to one preseason game. There is value in having a backup quarterback who has at least been in NFL meeting rooms and led a professional huddle.
The truth is, I don’t think either Fields or Nussmeier is going to keep Kansas City’s season afloat if needed for a multi-game stretch. Could Nussmeier eventually settle in as a Matt Moore or Chad Henne tier of backup? That’s certainly possible, but it would be silly to count on that happening in 2026. I do expect the rookie to be given a chance to win the backup job outright a year from now.
The chances of being offered something significant for Fields are unlikely. The Chiefs acquired him in March for only a 2027 sixth-round pick. If any team were interested, it’s not like Kansas City’s offer would have been prohibitively expensive to top.
Fields is set for free agency next March. With an expected deep quarterback class in next year’s draft, teams will be looking for bridge options at the position. Per Over the Cap, the current projected 2026 free agent contract cutoff for compensatory picks in next year’s draft is $4 million. With going rates for backup quarterbacks, Fields probably has a chance on the open market to factor into the late-round 2028 comp pick picture. I’d be surprised if the Chiefs could currently find more than that in a trade offer.
da’Monk asks:
Defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott – are we hearing anything about his actual availability after last season’s ACL tear, or are we looking at another weekly update of “He’s doing all the right things and we’ll just see how that works out”?
What is the team’s comfort level with our DT depth. Seems pretty damned thin if ONL is going to miss some time.
Reid seemed optimistic about Norman-Lott eventually participating in training camp, but time is getting short in St. Joseph. Norman-Lott remains on the team’s Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. He has frequently been seen working with trainers on the side.
Even if Norman-Lott is cleared before Week One, there may not be time for him to work his way into the early season rotation. I won’t be surprised if Norman-Lott remains on the PUP list for the first month of the season, but there is still over a week before the final cutdown date on August 31.
Jones, Tonga and rookie Peter Woods will likely take the bulk of the Chiefs’ interior defensive line snaps regardless of Norman-Lott’s return. Former Kansas Jayhawk Marcus Harris has had a good camp by most accounts and will probably be either one of the final players on or first players off of the final roster. His fate may be tied to Norman-Lott’s timeline.
Thank you for reading this week’s Arrowhead Pride Mailbag! We will be back to our weekly schedule with your questions after seeing the team return to action on Saturday. Keep watching The Feed for an opportunity to ask your questions.
