When the Kansas City Chiefs took the field at Allegiant Stadium to face the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, a noticeable change in the team's offensive personnel made fans sit up and take notice. Instead of seeing Kingsley Suamataia slotted at his normal position of left guard, the Chiefs sent veteran Mike Caliendo out there to take his place.
Once the game was underway, word leaked via ESPN's Nate Taylor that Caliendo's promotion to the first-team unit was a "coaching decision," but nothing more was added. That's apparently how things are going to stay.
Chiefs take the tight-lipped approach
Following the Chiefs' 30-27 win in Week 4, Reid opened his post-game remarks by acknowledging the scenario. "As far as the Kingsley thing goes, before you guys ask, that's between Kingsley and I. 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."
When asked a question about Suamataia to further clarify the situation, Reid doubled down on the secrecy. "That's between Kingsley and I. I might have stuttered when I said that." That's a clear insinuation that nothing more will be making its way out of Arrowhead (officially) regarding the incident.
A question of Caliendo
It doesn't do any good to try to guess what's going on behind the scenes at Arrowhead regarding Suamataia, but it's very fair to ask questions about why his replacement had to be Mike Caliendo. The Chiefs signed Caliendo back in March to a one-year, veteran-minimum deal to compete for a backup role once again. It was a surprise, however, when he ended up winning such a spot since the Chiefs made a clear offseason emphasis to get younger and more athletic at all levels on both sides of the ball.
While Caliendo was always a nice story as a former undrafted free agent who found a way to considerable playing time, the Chiefs were well-acquainted with his limitations. After watching his appearances in 42 games and 3 postseason starts, Caliendo's ceiling is about as low as anyone else on the roster.
On Sunday, that much became clear as quarterback Patrick Mahomes took multiple hits attributed to Caliendo getting outmatched or overwhelmed at left guard. Yet even when the Raiders were taking advantage of those clear mismatches up front, the Chiefs remained steadfast in their commitment to Caliendo up front.
Why not turn to other players?
At this point, it's hard to imagine why the Chiefs didn't at least turn to someone else in the second half if Caliendo was such a clear weakness up front. The Chiefs traded for Josh Ezeudu in a preseason deal to bolster the line and he's been with the long enough to at least try him out for a series in that scenario.
The Chiefs also have holdover Hunter Nourzad waiting in the wings for an opportunity to contribute. It's telling that Nourzad has been passed over in instances like this before, but after watching Caliendo on Sunday, does anyone really believe that Nourzad woudn't at least have been worth a look?
If nothing else, did Suamataia deserve to be benched the whole game? The Chiefs might have been trying to teach a lesson, but the team should have learned a bigger lesson after watching their star quarterback go down with a season-ending injury last December. At some point, priorities have to take over.
But none of that matters in the end, at least for those outside of Arrowhead. The Chiefs went to 4-0 despite their allegiance to Caliendo. Andy Reid has hung the privacy sign on any public-facing door. The bye week is here, and everyone involved likely hopes that the rest of us will forget about it. Perhaps that's true, but what we will hold onto is the lack of quality interior depth. It nearly cost the Chiefs in multiple ways in Week 4.
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