At the beginning of the Kansas City Chiefs’ 30-27 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, a significant change in the starting lineup stood out: left guard Mike Caliendo was between center Creed Humphrey and right tackle Jaylon Moore, not Kingsley Suamataia.
Suamataia, the 23-year-old starter who has manned left guard since the start of the 2025 season, remained on the sideline for the entire contest. In the first half, the Chiefs told local media that the action was “a coaching decision.”
After the game,
head coach Andy Reid used part of his opening statement at the podium to make it clear that we won’t know much more about the change in the starting lineup.
“Before you guys ask, that’s between Kingsley and I,” Reid said. “But 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.”
Sam McDowell of The Kansas City Star followed up with Reid, who responded snippily when asked about the major shakeup.
“I might have stuttered when I said that,” Reid said before reiterating that the situation is between Suamataia and him. McDowell asked for clarification on whether the action was for disciplinary or performance reasons.
ESPN’s Nate Taylor asked quarterback Patrick Mahomes about the sudden absence of one of the team’s young, ascending starters.
“Kingsley knows how important he is to the team,” Mahomes said. “We’ll get Kingsley back in the fold here soon.”
Mahomes was sacked twice, and the Raiders registered eight quarterback hits against a line that was technically down two starters, considering left tackle Josh Simmons (Back) has missed the entire year so far. Early in the game, the run game couldn’t break through because of penetration from the left side.
With a bye week ahead, the team may not have more information about why Suamataia was out of the lineup in Las Vegas.
