Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes Reveals The Why In Playing Preseason Football

Starters playing in the preseason is a topic that causes much debate, but for the Kansas City Chiefs and Andy Reid, it has become a common theme for his starters to get some work all throughout preseason.

Granted, when you have Patrick Mahomes, you might be playing with fire as such given the injury risk, but it appears that is something the Chiefs are fine with. We see other teams not play any starters in preseason, so there are several ways that team's like to attack it.

As for Mahomes, who played a fair chunk of the Chicago Bears game, he detailed why it was important for him to suit up.

“For me, I wanted to get out there,” Mahomes said. “It's the preseason, we understand it, and you want everybody to stay safe and have your health, but at the end of the day, you're a football player and you got to play football and there's risks that are involved with that.

"So, we want to get out there and give chances to showcase that what we're doing is paying off. With new offensive linemen, a couple new receivers and getting guys back that were that were injured last year, you want to go out there and showcase, what you've been working on. I thought we did a good job of that. It was a small step, but it was a step in the right direction.”

There is validation in that.

In an ideal world, as the Chiefs did, you get live NFL reps, get hit and see how your scheme is looking ahead of the new season, and most importantly, you leave the ground fully healthy.

That is what happened against the Bears, and now attention can switch to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1, with Mahomes and a handful of starters having banked meaningful preseason reps.