The NFL regular season is almost here! Standing in its way is one final preseason game and for the Kansas City Chiefs, that comes against the Seattle Seahawks on Friday night. It's one final opportunity for these guys to prove what they can do, show they belong on the 53-man roster, and potentially earn a bigger role.
While the score of this game won't matter, what these guys do will. Roster cutdown day is just two days from now so these players need to rev up their engines in the preseason finale.
Garrett Nussmeier
It was a bit of a surprise when Kansas City spent a seventh-round pick on LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier back in April. For one, many weren't thrilled that the organization was using a pick on a quarterback in the first place but secondly, Nussmeier was once considered one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2026 draft. To see him fall to the final round was pretty shocking.
Chiefs fans figured that Nussmeier would likely be the third-string quarterback entering the season and that made perfect sense. He's a rookie with recent injuries (which is why he fell in the draft in the first place) plus K.C. traded for Justin Fields with the plans of making him Patrick Mahomes' backup. It all felt like it was falling into place.
Well, Nussmeier has played pretty well in his two preseason games while Fields has underwhelmed, to say the least. While the consensus has been that Fields will still likely win the backup job, Nussmeier can still have something to say about that. He'll be getting the majority of playing time against the Seahawks and that means he'll have plenty of opportunities to show that he deserves to not only make Kansas City's final roster, but to potentially leapfrog Fields on the depth chart as well.
It'll be interesting to see A) How Nussmeier performs and B) What the Chiefs decide to do at quarterback. Mahomes is coming off a major injury and is about to turn 31 years old. It might make sense to carry three quarterbacks on the active roster, especially if Nussmeier plays well in the preseason finale. Pressure's on, kid.
Jared Wiley and Jake Briningstool
Chiefs fans know who the TE1 and TE2 are for this team. TE3, however, is still to be determined. The two contenders for the job are former fourth-rounder Jared Wiley and UDFA signing Jake Briningstool, both of whom are battling it out for the third-string job this summer.
Wiley was someone that Chiefs fans truly thought could be Travis Kelce's successor when he was drafted just a couple of years ago. Sadly, Wiley has been a major disappointment. He missed his rookie year due to an ACL injury and then barely did anything in his sophomore season in the pros. Through two seasons, the TCU alum has just two catches for 11 yards. Not ideal.
Briningstool also had a lot of hype when he joined the Chiefs last summer as an undrafted standout out of Clemson. His NFL rookie season ended quickly, however, as he was placed on IR after suffering a season-ending injury during training camp.
Not only are these two competing against each other but they also want to step it up against Seattle to avoid another potential option. With the Chiefs still being able to add help via roster cutdowns, they could simply decide to add another tight end and move on from Wiley and Briningstool altogether. If neither guy shows what the team is wanting to see on Friday night, that could ultimately be what happens. Time to step it up.
Kahlil Benson
Last, but most certainly not least, we have Kahlil Benson. The Chiefs signed Benson as a UDFA out of Indiana and fans probably didn't think much of it at the time. That was a mistake, as Benson has been tearing it up this summer.
Not only has Benson done enough to make the 53-man roster but the National Champion Hoosier might have done enough to be a starter on the Chiefs' offensive line. Absolute insanity but hey, Benson's earned it.
Benson will be starting at left tackle in the Chiefs' preseason finale and this is an opportunity for him to show that he has what it takes to be considered there as well. Ideally, he'd be the Chiefs' right tackle but with Josh Simmons' back injury, having another option alongside Jaylon Moore would give the fan base less reason to worry.
Benson's already done a solid job this summer and will make the team. Friday's mission is for him to show that he's capable of filling in at either tackle spot and doing so admirably. Is he up for the task?
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