KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The reclamation of Kingsley Suamataia went public in last season’s Week 18 game at Denver, when the second-round rookie left tackle started at left guard, and immediately drew kudos from teammates and opponents alike.
Broncos defensive tackle Zach Allen, who earned second-team All-Pro honors last season, sought out Suamataia after the contest. “For playing guard my first time, he said I did pretty good.
Head coach Andy Reid called Suamataia’s performance in that game one of the few bright spots in the 38-0 drubbing the Chiefs suffered that day to the Broncos. Between that debut as an interior lineman and what the Chiefs have seen during offseason workouts, Reid is optimistic a reimagined Suamataia as a guard can succeed in 2025.
“First of all, he has experience and then he looks more comfortable there,” Reid said after the team’s organized team practice activity (OTA) Thursday. “He seems to be picking it up well. Not that we’re going full speed contact, but he has an opportunity to go against Chris (Jones) and that’ll surely help him for the season.”
The Chiefs drafted Suamataia in the second round of last year’s draft with the No. 63 overall selection with the intention of building him into their left tackle of the future. That future lasted just two games and 108 snaps before the Chiefs ejected on the plan and began charting a new course for the 6-foot-6, 315-pound lineman. Reid feels Suamataia can pull on his experience last year in reinventing himself.
“It looked like he learned as he went,” Reid said. “It was rough, obviously, early and expectations are high. You come into a championship caliber team, and you’re thrown in there at left tackle, it’s not always the easiest thing for a young guy. I think it was a great experience when you – I think it’ll tell itself out as he goes forward.”
Suamataia began playing guard on the scout team last season, and coaches like what they saw. It wasn’t merely a fresh start but a brand new perspective on the game that made him realize he loved playing on the inside of the offensive line.
“Just being aggressive right off the get go, I love that,” Suamataia said. “Everybody loves playing O-line, but it was like a different point of view on coming in at guard, just being able to, you know, given that opportunity. So I’m taking full advantage of it.”
Notes & Observations
Cloudy skies and muggy conditions greeted the Chiefs on Thursday, albeit the 76-degree temperature at the end of practice marked a drop of more than 11 degrees from Wednesday’s workout. The conditions still took their toll on the uneasy stomach of receiver Rashee Rice, who is accustomed to deal with nausea during intense practices.
Organized team practice activity (OTA) No. 9 was similar to the previous two OTAs open to the media. The one-hour, 40-minute practice started with stretch and conditioning, position drills, a group installation period, and special teams work before the club embarked on 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 play.
The 7-on-7 session opened with a defensive stop that set the tone for the day. Patrick Mahomes took a deep shot down the left sideline for Xavier Worthy. Worthy sometimes struggled with this route early last season as a rookie by wandering too close to the boundary. In this case, Worthy ran the route perfectly, providing Mahomes with room to lead him toward the sideline and away from the boundary. Quarterback and receiver executed the play perfectly — but so did safety Jaden Hicks, who stayed step-for-step with the speedster Worthy and knocked the ball away for an incompletion.
“Yeah, so it was a corner blitz,” Hicks explained. “I know I got the one, seen Xavier Worthy, so, you know, that’s a speedy guy. Just try to stay on top of him and obviously, just make the play. And, yeah, that just shaped out for me.”
Mahomes was 3-of-5 in his opening turn, completing passes to tight ends Robert Tonyan and Noah Gray and receiver Skyy Moore but misfiring on a checkdown to Kareem Hunt out of the backfield. With backups Gardner Minshew and Bailey Zappe at the helm, the defense broke up two more passes with plays by rookie cornerback Nohl Williams in coverage against Elijhah Badger and rookie Brandon George knocking down a pass intended for Mac Dalena.
The offensive miscues continued on the first play for Mahomes in his second rotation. His initial throw fluttered harmlessly to the ground, with no receiver in the area after receiver Rashee Rice appeared to misread the coverage, he broke his route in the wrong direction. Mahomes finished on a roll, however, completing four straight passes to Moore, Rice, Brashard Smith and Jason Brownlee.
It was the throw to Smith, however, that delivered the offense its play of the day. Smith ran a wheel route off the line of scrimmage down the left sideline and Mahomes dropped the ball into his waiting hands downfield. It’s the kind of play one might expect from a receiver-turned-running-back. Cornerback Kristian Fulton had no chance to keep up with the speedy Smith, who could have easily scored a touchdown on the play.
Cornerback Nazeeh Johnson turned in another big play for the defense before the end of 7-on-7 work when he intercepted a Minshew pass intended for Justyn Ross.
The Chiefs begin working on their regular-season opponents this time of year, typically focusing on AFC West rivals and early-season foes. Thursday was Las Vegas day, with the scout defense running looks from Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and players representing cornerback Jakorian Bennett, linebackers Devin White and Elandon Roberts.
Mahomes and the offense exacted a little revenge during the extensive 11-on-11 work. Mahomes completed nine straight passes to six different receivers, including Gray, Moore, Rice, Worthy, Tyquan Thornton and Elijah Mitchell.
This is one of the rare offseason sessions when the first-team offense and defense are not competing against each other, but rather the first units face off against scout teams. When the Kansas City defense took the field, Minshew ran the offense of the Raiders — the same offense he ran last year with Las Vegas with scout players posing as tight end Brock Bowers, receivers Tre Tucker and Collin Johnson, and running back Ashton Jeanty.
The defense asserted itself on the first snap when George Karlaftis batted a Minshew pass in the air. He would have perhaps turned it into an interception had a quick-thinking Minshew not raced over and leaped to bat the ball away before it fell into the grasp of Karlaftis.
Linebacker Nick Bolton, who has shown improved pass coverage skills during OTAs, broke up another pass during this turn. When the backups took their next turn, rookie safety Glendon Miller broke up a pass from Zappe to Badger, and George later made a leaping interception for his second defended pass of the day.
On the final rotation for the Mahomes and company, the offense won three out of four red-zone plays with Gray catching a touchdown pass and Isiah Pacheco getting in the end zone twice. When the line of scrimmage moved back to the offense’s 30-yard line, the defense regained the upper hand, with the highlight coming from defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott breaking up a pass. The defense ended the day against Mahomes with a coach’s whistle signaling a sack.
The team ran 48 plays before media members were dismissed after first-team reps in the final rotation.
Attendance Report
Just six players did not participate in Thursday’s workout, and the tight end position remained the thinnest group on the field due to injuries and Travis Kelce’s absence.
Jake Briningstool was the last tight end to join the sidelines Thursday. He attended practice as an observer but did not participate while wearing a compression sleeve on his right leg. The Chiefs are not required to issue injury reports during the offseason, and Reid said at the beginning of OTAs he would not elaborate on injuries.
Briningstool joined rookie free agent Tre Watson as a non-participant. Jared Wiley, who is returning from a torn ACL, took part in the opening stretch period but did not practice. He was wearing a bulky brace on his injured right knee. Kelce remains away from voluntary OTAs, leaving the Chiefs with three healthy tight ends: Gray, Tonyan and Kevin Foelsch, a 2024 undrafted free agent from New Haven who spent time on the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad last season. The Chiefs signed Foelsch on Wednesday and waived defensive tackle Siaki Ika. All-purpose running back Carson Steele also took reps at tight end.
Also absent from Thursday’s workout were offensive lineman Trey Smith, wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, and linebacker Drue Tranquill.
Players appearing limited in action who took part in few, if any, team snaps included left tackle Jaylon Moore and receiver Hollywood Brown.
Trey Smith Watch
The Chiefs had strong attendance for the voluntary portion of the voluntary offseason program with all but one player making an appearance at some point.
That one player is right guard Trey Smith, who signed the one-year franchise tender worth $23.402 million for the 2025 season. He hasn’t participated in offseason workouts as he awaits progress on a long-term extension. Players under contract who skip the mandatory three-day minicamp next week face escalating fines that total up to $104,768 — or 0.45% of Smith’s scheduled 2025 salary.
Reid isn’t sure whether his franchise player will be in attendance next week.
“We’ll see,” Reid said. “I don’t know that to be honest with you. These things are – we’ll see where it goes.”
Kelce, who has missed most of OTA practices, is expected to return to Kansas City next week, a source confirmed to Chiefs Digest.
Five Players to Watch
This list focuses on free agents and rookies new to the club who might surpise by battling for a roster spot or playing a larger role than expected this season.
RB Brashard Smith: Smith wins his way on the list this week with consistent play and ever-growing role. Smith’s highlight-reel catch Thursday opened eyes, but it’s likely special teams where Smith will earn his keep. He’s a front-runner to earn a role as one of the two primary kick returners, and he’s also competing with Nikko Remigio for the punt return specialist job.
RB Elijah Mitchell: Pacheco, Hunt, Smith … can the Chiefs keep four running backs on the roster? Reid tells players every year that it’s their job to make it difficult on coaches to cut them, and so far Mitchell is doing that. He’s displayed the speed that helped him collect 1,100 yards from scrimmage in 2021 as a rookie for San Francisco. Injuries have curtailed his last three seasons, including a hamstring injury that wiped out his 2024 campaign. If Mitchell remains healthy, Mitchell and Smith can provide the lightning to the thunder from Pacheco and Hunt.
DE Ashton Gillotte: Norman-Lott is the smart bet to be the first member of the 2025 draft class to start for the Chiefs but Gillotte should certainly make an impact as a rotational piece in year one. His quickness and tenacity are evident, next he needs to show he can deliver power when the contact is real. If the Chiefs improve their pass rush in 2025, expect Gillotte to be a key contributor.
LB Brandon George: The Chiefs scouting department and coaching staff have mined the undrafted free agency pool for key contributors such as Ben Niemann, Jack Cochrane, Cam Jones and Swayze Bozeman for youung, affordable linebackers who can play a little defense and a lot of special teams. George might even play a bit more than a little defense. He’s not quite as big and strong as Leo Chenal but he’s just as athletic and plays with an attitude. George could emerge as a solid backup on defense and special teams ace.
DB Chris Roland-Wallace: He’s not a new face but he might find a new place. Roland-Wallace impressed last season as a compliment to Chamarri Conner who can fill in as a slot corner. Now just as Conner is a safety who plays a little cornerback, Roland-Wallace might become a corner who can play a little safety. Maybe a lot of safety, in fact. He’s built more like Conner (6-foot, 202 pounds) than he is Jaylen Watson (6-foot-2, 197 pounds). The Chiefs have a logjam at corner but are in need of additional safety depth. If Roland-Wallace can fill both roles, he can land on the 53 to start the season.
Andy Hill Retires
The Chiefs made a surprise announcement Wednesday with the revelation that assistant special teams coach Andy Hill was retiring after five seasons with the club. Hill spent the previous 24 seasons at his alma mater Missouri in a variety of roles including associate head coach, co-offensive coordinator and positions coach for wide receivers, tight ends, quaterbacks and special teams.
“Andy retired to golf and fish and hunt, but he did a great job when he was here,” Reidd said. “He is Mr. Missouri, he knows everybody. I’m not just saying that, he knows everybody. He’s got a great attitude, and he has a great relationship with (Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Dave) Toub – and the other coaches but he was very close with Dave. We’ll miss him.”
Hill took to social media Wednesday to thank the organization for his time with Kansas City.
“Coach Andy Reid and Dave Toub and the wonderful coaches and players that I was honored to be a small part of such a class organization-Top to bottom the best in the NFL!” Hill wrote. “Our family says THANK YOU!”
Porter Ellett, who has been with the Chiefs for nine seasons including the last two as assistant running backs coach, is taking over Hill’s role as assistant to special teams coordinator Toub. Mark DeLeone, who served as a defensive assistant under coach under Bob Sutton from 2013-18, is returning to the club as assistant running backs coach.
“Porter’s moved over to that, who’s a good, young football coach so he’ll do a nice job but again, it was good to have Andy here for the years he was here. He was very well liked,” Reid said.
What’s Next?
The Chiefs have one more OTA practice scheduled for Friday, followed by next week’s mandatory minicamp, June 17-19. That’s the final work for the 2025 offseason before the team heads to training camp.
The Chiefs will likely announce their training camp schedule and ticket information the week of June 23.
