Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has not shied away from playing quarterback Patrick Mahomes in past preseasons, but Mahomes is coming off a torn ACL this summer and it sounds like Reid has a different approach in mind.
The Chiefs will play their first preseason game against the Rams a week from Saturday and Reid said at a Friday press conference that he is not inclined to play Mahomes in that game. Reid went on to say that he doesn’t know if Mahomes will see any game action before the Chiefs host the Broncos on the first Monday night of the regular season.
“There’s a pretty good chance I don’t play him [against the Rams],” Reid said. “Percentages are leaning that way. I don’t know if I’ll play him the second or third game, I don’t know that, but the percentages likely lean against doing that. We’ve got new people in those other positions behind him that need some work, and so the more reps they get, the better.”
Justin Fields, Garrett Nussmeier and Chris Oladokun are the other Chiefs quarterbacks. Fields and Nussmeier are both new to the team this season.
Reid and the Chiefs got to experience life without Mahomes last year and no one in Kansas City will have an appetite for risking a repeat of that in a game that doesn’t factor into the standings. Final answers on the team’s plans will come in the next couple of weeks, but it doesn’t sound like anyone should expect to see No. 15 until September.
Chiefs Clips
Justin Fields has been a starting quarterback for most of his NFL career, but when he was traded to the Chiefs this offseason, he knew he was going to Kansas City to back up Patrick Mahomes. And he says that’s been a valuable experience for him.
Fields said at Chiefs training camp that Mahomes has been coaching him on the Chiefs’ offense and explaining concepts that Fields previously hasn’t learned.
“Any question that I have, he’s been in this offense for 10 years now so he knows every little detail,” Fields said of Mahomes. “Any questions that have popped up, he’s explaining to me perfectly. It’s great learning from him, him showing me the ropes.”
Fields says he’s growing as a quarterback in the unfamiliar position of backup to a future Hall of Famer.
“I’m just trying to expand my horizon, do things I’ve never done before, the amount of concepts, the amount of actions, the amount of stuff we have in the offense,” Fields said. “I’m just trying to practice on that, and really emulate Pat.”
Chiefs rookie wide receiver Cyrus Allen’s hot start to training camp was interrupted by a shin injury last weekend, but Allen’s time away from the field came to an end on Friday.
Allen suited up for practice on Friday for the first time since he was carted off the field during practice last Saturday. Video from Friday’s session shows the fifth-round pick catching passes from Patrick Mahomes during drills.
Allen had been doing well enough in that role to earn time with the first team before his injury and the Chiefs will be hoping he can pick up right where he left off.
Xavier Worthy injured his shoulder on the same day that Allen went down, but the third-year wideout remains on the sideline for the time being.
More details have recently emerged regarding the July 26 shooting of Mia Bieniemy, the wife of Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.
The Athletic reports that, two days before the shooting, Elijah Bieniemy apparently called police to complain that his parents were withholding his firearms from him.
Based on documents obtained by The Athletic via a public records request, a 27-year-old man calling from the Bieniemy address told authorities that “his parents are withholding his weapons and that he’s a certified UFC fighter so now he feels like he cannot defend himself.” The report containing the information did not include the name of the caller.
Per the report, the caller “kept rambling on about also having his [CPR] license and what if he cannot help.”
He also told police that “his parents told him he must give them his firearms if he wants to keep living in the home — and that he could have them back when he needed them.” He said his parents “refuse to give his firearms back when he tries to go to the range to use them.”
Elijah Bieniemy is accused of shooting his mother, Mia Bieniemy. He is charged with malicious wounding, use of a firearm in commission of a felony, and discharge of a firearm inside a dwelling.
A judge recently granted a request from Elijah Bieniemy’s public defender for a mental evaluation, arguing that Elijah Bieniemy “appears to suffer from significant mental health issues” and “does not appear able to assist in his own defense at the present time.”
Mia Bieniemy was transferred out of intensive care last week, as she continues to improve following the shooting.
When the NFL changed the kickoff rule two years ago, kickers began to experiment with different ways to kick the ball and make it harder to return. Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker says that affected his approach to kicking, and his field goals suffered.
Butker has had two straight seasons in which both his field goal rate and his extra point rate were below his career averages, and he says he thinks that’s because he was tinkering too much with his kicking motion on kickoffs, at the expense of having a consistent kicking motion on field goals.
“Field goals matter the most,” Butker said. “Trying to hit those knuckleballs and the funny kickoffs maybe affected the field goals a little bit. I think halfway through the season last year I said, forget the kickoffs — not forget the kickoffs — but I’m just gonna hit a high hang time ball, good location, just focus on the location. I’m not gonna hit a low line-drive knuckleball. And I think that’s helped my field goals because it’s the same foot-to-ball contact. Good foot-to-ball contact on the field goal and just do the same thing on the kickoff rather than having two different swings. So that helped me the second half of the season and I’m sticking with that for training camp and this season.”
Butker’s down year was far from the biggest problem in Kansas City last season, but the Chiefs are hoping for a more consistent Butker this season — and hoping he’s back to making game-winning kicks in big games, after a season in which the Chiefs didn’t win many big games.
An improbable story is playing out on the offensive line at Chiefs training camp.
Kahlil Benson started 12 games at right tackle for Indiana during their run to the national title last year, but went undrafted in April. He earned a roster spot with the Chiefs after a tryout at their rookie minicamp and has impressed enough to take all the first-team reps at right tackle over the last two days of practice.
Pete Sweeney of the Kansas City Star notes that Benson has taken the majority of those reps since camp opened and he’s now got an inside track to join left tackle Josh Simmons as a starter up front.
“I think Kahlil is doing a great job. I think he’s a very physical player. I think he should just add on to that,” Simmons said, via Brett Kennedy of KQTV. “I think you can’t really teach effort. I mean that’s what he’s giving out there, so that’s really all I’m telling him right now is keep doing that effort.”
Jaylon Moore was expected to be the top choice at right tackle in Kansas City this season, but Benson now has momentum and continued success in the preseason could make him one of the league’s unlikeliest starters in Week 1.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said in June that it would be a good thing for left tackle Josh Simmons to gain weight, as long as it wasn’t “cheeseburger weight.” Two months later, Reid confirmed that Simmons has gained lead weight, not cheeseburger weight.
Reid said at training camp on Wednesday that Simmons is looking good after gaining weight in the last couple months.
“He put on weight in the offseason. He’s been able to maintain it,” Reid said. “I think it’ll help him, not that he couldn’t do it at the other weight, but this gives him a little bit more lead in his pants, and that pays off for you. Over time, it pays off for you during the season.”
The 6-foot-5 Simmons weighed 317 pounds at last year’s Scouting Combine before the Chiefs drafted him in the first round, but he lost a lot of weight during his first year in the NFL and said in June that he got down to around 285, which is probably too skinny for an NFL offensive tackle. He declined to directly answer a reporter’s question about precisely how much he weighs right now, but he said he’s in the range where he and the team want him.
“It’s definitely where it needs to be,” Simmons said of his current weight.
After a rookie season in which he missed more games than he played, the Chiefs need Simmons to be ready to play a full season and protect Patrick Mahomes’ blind side this season. All indications from training camp are that Simmons is physically ready to go.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid is dismissing talk that tight end Travis Kelce showed up to training camp out of shape.
Asked on NFL Network about Kelce’s offseason, which included marrying Taylor Swift, Reid said Kelce is as focused on football as he’s ever been.
“He came back in good shape,” Reid said. “I know everybody’s out there saying he’s got the dad body and all this stuff, but he looks the same to me that he’s always looked, and just playing like crazy. So he’s doing a nice job with everything. He’s focused in and ready to go, and I appreciate that, when you have somebody who’s been here 14 years and wants to be out there every snap. . . he’s going to play and play hard and be aggressive and not be stopped, and that’s contagious.”
Kelce will turn 37 this season, and he’s no longer in his prime. But Reid has no doubt that he’s ready to contribute this season as the Chiefs try to turn things around following a highly disappointing 2025.
For the last several years, the Chiefs’ home stadium has had some branding to go along with its iconic name.
Now, that is no more.
The organization announced on Wednesday that “G.E.H.A Field” has been dropped from the name of the venue that is going back to being known simply as Arrowhead Stadium.
G.E.H.A will continue to be a key partner with the Chiefs.
The original naming deal was slated to go through the 2031 season.
“G.E.H.A is a tremendous partner and this mutual decision reflects a shared commitment to honoring the rich history of Arrowhead Stadium and the Chiefs organization,” Chiefs president Mark Donovan said in a statement released by the team. “We are thrilled to continue working with G.E.H.A on all of the key community, military, and veteran-focused programs that they have helped us bring to life over the years.”
“Together with the Chiefs, we made the decision to return the stadium to its iconic Arrowhead identity, honoring the legacy, tradition, and community pride it represents,” Raj Vanilla, G.E.H.A’s EVP growth and strategy, said in a statement. “We are proud to have been part of this chapter in the stadium’s history and to celebrate the return of a name that is synonymous with Chiefs Kingdom. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Chiefs and investing in programs that make a difference in the communities where our members live, work, and serve.”
Arrowhead Stadium, which opened in 1972, was also known as “Kansas City Stadium” this summer for the FIFA World Cup.
The Chiefs have announced a plan to replace Arrowhead, which is in Missouri, with a domed stadium across the border in Kansas. That is currently slated to open in time for the 2031 season.
There is some positive news on the injury front for one of Kansas City’s key offensive pieces.
According to multiple reporters on the scene, receiver Rashee Rice participated in 11-on-11 drills for the first time in 2026 training camp on Wednesday.
Rice has been recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in May before serving a 30-day sentence for violating his probation by testing positive for THC. Rice was released from Dallas County Jail on June 16.
While he did not begin training camp on the active/physically unable to perform list, the Chiefs have been bringing him along methodically during camp.
Rice appeared in eight games last season, catching 53 passes for 571 yards with five touchdowns.
