The Kansas City Chiefs opened their Week 4 meeting with the Las Vegas Raiders under a quiet lineup change that had not been telegraphed by the injury report.
Starting left guard Kingsley Suamataia was held out of the opening lineup in favor of Mike Caliendo, a move the club described to ESPN’s Nate Taylor as a coaches’ decision rather than the result of a fresh injury.
Suamataia had not appeared on Kansas City’s injury report during the week, and nothing public indicated he had been hurt in the days leading into Allegiant Stadium. The explanation was short and deliberately vague.
Taylor reported that the team simply chose to start Caliendo, leaving the rest of the reasoning for after the game, when Andy Reid and the staff would have more room to explain the switch.
Caliendo is a five-year veteran who arrived with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2022. He has started seven games in his career, a body of work that has been uneven enough to keep him in a reserve role for long stretches, yet the club brought him back on a one-year deal in the offseason.
On Sunday, he was asked to step into a starting job on the left side of the line, next to undrafted rookie Kahlil Benson at left tackle.
That pairing is not the protection Patrick Mahomes was expected to have. Benson has held his own for a player who was not drafted, but he has also been the most vulnerable piece of the Chiefs’ offensive line.
Putting the inconsistent Caliendo beside him leaves the blind side thinner than Kansas City would like against a Raiders front that was already leading 13-10 at halftime.
The larger problem on that side of the formation is the absence of Josh Simmons. The starting left tackle has missed the entire season after hurting his back in training camp. Reid finally offered more detail this past week, saying Simmons has been dealing with a bulging disc in his lower back that has limited the strength in his leg.
Reid said Simmons is the only player not practicing, that he is in the building every day, and that he is making progress and getting stronger.
Because the club did not have to open a roster spot, Simmons was never placed on injured reserve. Reid noted that backs of this kind can be unpredictable, even when the trend is positive.
Until Simmons is ready, the Chiefs are managing the left side with a combination of a rookie tackle and a veteran guard who was not the planned starter when the week began.
The benching of Suamataia adds another variable to a line that has already been forced to improvise.
Whether the change was about matchup, recent practice, or something the staff has not yet said will not be clear until Kansas City explains it after the final whistle in Las Vegas.
