KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – For the second road divisional game of the season, Kansas City Chiefs starting left guard Kingsley Suamataia was benched.
This Sunday, the benching came in what wound up becoming a 28-24 Chiefs loss, with Kansas City blowing an 11-point fourth-quarter lead to put the AFC West back up for grabs.
After telling reporters that Suamataia’s benching against the Raiders was for a reason that would remain undisclosed.
“Did I stutter?” Reid said when pressed with a follow-up question for a reason for Suamataia’s removal from the starting lineup in Week 4.
After another benching in Week 8, Reid again spent Monday declining to share the reason.
“This is just between Kingsley and I,” Reid said, confirming that Suamataia practiced all three days with the Chiefs in the lead-up to the Broncos game. “It’s not something that’s earth shattering. I’ll just keep it there.”
Reid pointed out that unlike the Raiders game, Suamataia was on the field for special teams snaps against the Broncos. When a question addressing the subject suggested Reid was punishing Suamataia for some unshared transgression, Reid pushed back again.
“I didn’t say it was a punishment, ever,” Reid said. “This was just between Kingsley and I working some things out here. This isn’t punishment. I’ll leave it at that.”
In his replacement, backup left guard Mike Caliendo had a rough showing, particularly in the pass blocking department. Caliendo was given a 16.8 grade in pass blocking by Pro Football Focus, by far the worst of the game amongst Chiefs offensive linemen. Caliendo’s matchup also wound up sacking Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes on the final play of the game.
It remains to be seen whether Suamataia will be back at left guard when Kansas City kicks off Week 9 against the New York Jets on Sunday.
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