All offseason long, there has been talk about the Kansas City Chiefs’ expected starting competition at left guard leading up to training camp. But that position battle has not materialized so far.
Early on, it seems the left guard job is Kingsley Suamataia’s and his alone. The 2024 second-round pick has received all the first-team reps at left guard this summer, as the Chiefs have paired him with 2025 first-round left tackle Josh Simmons in every practice.
It’s possible the Chiefs are attempting to build some early chemistry and rapport between the two younger blockers, but this training camp development is still a bit surprising, nonetheless.
In fact, KC reporters Charles Goldman and Nick Roesch both highlighted the left guard competition — or lack thereof — as one of the “biggest surprises” of camp so far during a mailbag article with A-to-Z Sports on July 26.
“The next [surprise] is Mike Caliendo, who has been playing some center with the second-team offense,” Roesch responded first. “He was expected to battle Kingsley Suamataia for the starting left guard job, but Suamataia has gotten all the first-team reps. Caliendo’s ability to play center will help him stay on the roster as a backup.”
Goldman then followed up on his colleague, expanding upon this discussion.
“The other [surprise] I’ll mention, which Nick has already touched on, is Kingsley Suamataia,” he agreed. “I know he looked the part at left tackle during training camp last year, and that didn’t work out. I think Chiefs fans will be pleasantly surprised with Suamataia at left guard in Year 2.”
If Suamataia can take over the role Joe Thuney once dominated without any major difficulties, it would obviously be a very positive and welcome development for Kansas City.
Mike Caliendo Goes From Starter Hopeful to the Roster Bubble at Chiefs Training Camp
Suamataia was never getting cut, but there was a chance that he wasn’t ready to start at left guard, which could have meant someone like Caliendo would begin the season as the Week 1 guy.
Now, it appears Caliendo is fighting just to remain on the 53-man roster, just months after starting in playoff games for KC.
As Roesch noted, Caliendo’s versatility will be huge if he’s going to stick with the active roster. The former UDFA interior lineman has basically morphed into the new Nick Allegretti, and Chiefs Kingdom surely remembers how much the staff loved Allegretti before he eventually left for a starting opportunity.
Unfortunately for Caliendo, KC has loaded up on offensive line draft picks in recent years. Suamataia and Simmons are the headliners, but the Chiefs also have Hunter Nourzad and C.J. Hanson heading into year two.
If Nourzad can do what Caliendo does, playing guard and center but with a higher ceiling, will Kansas City consider cutting the undrafted vet at the 53-man deadline? Similarly, would the Chiefs move on from a recent developmental draft pick like Hanson to keep Caliendo?
There’s also a trio of undrafted rookies who could factor into this discussion, in Joey Lombard (C/G), Esa Pole (OT/G) and Dalton Cooper (G).
Forget the starting competition at left guard. This is Caliendo’s new training camp battle, and it could be a dogfight for the Chiefs’ veteran backup offensive lineman.
Chiefs HC Andy Reid Says Josh Simmons, Jawaan Taylor & Jaylon Moore Are All Competing for Starting Tackle Jobs
The other highly anticipated Chiefs training camp competition on the O-line was the left tackle battle, if you flash back a couple of months ago.
In late July, it has felt more like veterans Jawaan Taylor and Jaylon Moore are competing for the starting right tackle job, with Simmons holding down the fort on the left-hand side.
Although Simmons has yet to have a practice where he doesn’t begin as the first-team left tackle, head coach Andy Reid cooled this narrative slightly on July 27.
“Yeah, we were getting him back in the swing [of things],” Reid said of Taylor’s early rotation at right tackle on Sunday. “He hadn’t done anything [in a while].”
However, Reid did add that “all three [offensive tackles] are kind of competing in there.”
The Chiefs are in an odd spot at the tackle position, after spending big money on Taylor and Moore in free agency in recent offseasons and then utilizing a first-round pick on Simmons. All three players were brought in to start, but only two can do so.
At the end of the day, it’s a good problem to have, but it does make for an interesting training camp.
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