KANSAS CITY, Mo. — KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County, including Independence. Share your story idea with Tod.
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For the second time this season, the Chiefs have demoted left guard Kingsley Suamataia from the starting lineup.
It was a “coach’s decision,” according to multiple reports.
Mike Caliendo was a surprise starter at left guard when Kansas City traveled to Las Vegas for a Week 4 showdown with the Raiders on Oct. 4 at Allegiant Stadium.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid was evasive after the game when asked to explain the swap.
“As far as the Kingsley thing goes: Before you 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.”
Kansas City won that game 30-27 to stay unbeaten entering a Week 5 bye.
Suamataia, a second-round pick from BYU in 2024, returned to the starting lineup when the Chiefs’ season resumed with a Week 6 win against the Los Angeles Chargers on Oct. 18 and remained the starting left guard in last Sunday’s loss at Seattle.
Now, he’s been relegated to backup again for an AFC West showdown at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium.
It’s not the first time Suamataia’s bounced in and out of the lineup.
He won the starting left tackle job as a rookie, but was benched after struggling in the second game that season.
Kansas City moved Suamataia inside during the offseason, and he locked down the left guard job, starting all 17 games there and logging 98% of the offensive snaps in 2025.
Caliendo is a fifth-year veteran with the Chiefs. He spent 2022 on the practice squad after signing as an undrafted rookie from Western Michigan.
During the last four seasons, Caliendo has appeared in 49 games, including nine starts, but he’s never played more than 38% of the offensive snaps in any season.
It's the latest moving piece for Kansas City up front.
Starting left tackle Josh Simmons has yet to play this season. The 2025 first-round pick, who missed more than a month of his rookie season with an undisclosed personal issue, suffered a calf injury in training camp.
The Chiefs' training staff diagnosed Simmons with a bulging disc in his back, which sidelined him for the first five games.
Simmons — who has been replaced in the starting lineup by Khalil Benson, an undrafted rookie from Indiana — subsequently landed on injured reserve before the loss at the Seahawks amid reports that Reid and Mahomes asked him to leave a midweek team meeting.
Kansas City was also without starting right tackle Jaylon Moore, who was in concussion protocol, in the loss at Seattle. Moore returned for the game in Denver.
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