To end the 2026 preseason, the Kansas City Chiefs will host the Seattle Seahawks on Friday evening at Arrowhead Stadium. The opening kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
After the final practice of the week on Wednesday afternoon, head coach Andy Reid shared a list of players who will not be playing in preseason Week 3.
In the midst of sharing it, he stopped himself to announce rookie quarterback Garrett Nussmeier as the starter for Friday’s game. The LSU product and fourth-string quarterback Chris Oladokun
will share the playing time on Friday, although Oladokun needs to clear concussion protocol first.
“The young kid is going to go,” Reid said, referring to Nussmeier. “He’ll start the game. Those two are going to split the game. It has nothing to do with Justin [Fields]; this is all in advance.”
During this week of practice, Nussmeier has taken reps with the starting offense while Patrick Mahomes has manned the scout-team quarterback role, still uncleared to play in a live game.
“He’s done a nice job,” Reid described Nussmeier in practice. “We threw him right into the fire there with the first group, and I thought he handled it well; it wasn’t a big shock to him. It looked like he stepped in and took it on, had good leadership, good tempo in and out of the huddle. It’ll pay off for him down the road.”
“He’s looked good during the practices,” Reid said of Mahomes. “This week, he was the scout-team quarterback; pretty good scout-team quarterback. He’s looked strong, and obviously, his attitude is right.”
If Oladokun can’t go, Reid is still dressing his second-string quarterback — but it could be all Nussmeier in the last exhibition of this year.
“Justin, I told him to keep it loose there,” Reid grinned. “If not, then Garrett, I’m sure they would all like to play a full game, and now he has a chance, potentially.”
Players who will not be available in Friday’s game
- Linebacker Jack Cochrane (Knee)
- Safety Chamarri Conner
- Defensive end Ashton Gillotte (Foot)
- Guard C.J. Hanson
- Wide receiver Jimmy Holiday
- Left tackle Josh Simmons (Back)
- Defensive end Tyreke Smith (Hamstring)
An update on Kenneth Walker
Starting running back Kenneth Walker has missed the last two practices, watching off to the side due to a foot injury designation. Reid clarified the severity of the lead back’s ailment.
“The last couple of days, Kenneth Walker’s shoe has caused some swelling on his ankle,” Reid shared. “So we’re trying to get that down, but he’s okay; he’s going to be fine. We’re just trying to get that down.”
What’s up with Josh Simmons?
That answer has yet to come from Reid and the Chiefs.
“Just getting his back checked out, so that’s the main thing,” Reid said of Simmons. “He was doing good when he was in there; he just had the back. Like any other injury, we have to see if that’s right or what’s wrong with it.”
Ashton Gillotte is making progress
“He’s off that little scooter and has a boot on,” Reid told reporters. “So we’re just taking it from there.”
Will we see wide receivers Rashee Rice or Xavier Worthy in the preseason finale?
It sounds like both starting receivers have been practicing this week, but Reid couldn’t give a definitive answer to this question.
“I’m going to evaluate it in the next couple of days,” Reid said. “They’ve worked their tails off this week and have taken a lot of reps, so that’s been good for them. We’ll just see as we get closer to the game here.”
