Chiefs have made their stance on Kingsley Suamataia crystal clear

Coming into the 2025 preseason, the Kansas City Chiefs were emphasizing the competition at left guard again and again. Kingsley Suamataia was the presumed starter, but no one working at Arrowhead would mention his name without also talking about Mike Caliendo and the roster battle ahead.

So far, it's been nothing but Suamataia through the first week of Chiefs training camp.

Players will rotate reps throughout the Chiefs' preseason—as with any team—as Andy Reid and company try to best understand their options for the season ahead. So it's quite possible the Chiefs will still roll out Caliendo with the first-team unit at some point at left guard. That said, it still looks like their stance is clear on Kingsley Suamataia.

There's no doubts about how the Chiefs are still viewing Suamataia's potential.

The Chiefs were just as committed to Suamataia a year ago after selecting him in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft. They inserted the Brigham Young product into the starting lineup for the entirety of the offseason and preseason in drills and practices at left tackle, only to give him a quick hook in Week 2 when it was clear he was not ready for the role.

This year, Chiefs Kingdom is once again seeing Suamataia entrenched with the first-team unit in training camp, but left guard is the position. Suamataia has been shifted inside to potentially replace Joe Thuney, a perennial All-Pro traded to the Chicago Bears this spring in order to create room in the long-term financial picture for right guard Trey Smith to sign an extension.

Suamataia did give the Chiefs a sneak preview of what's to come in Week 18 when he started at left guard in the final game of the season. Before that, the Chiefs allowed Suamataia to learn from the sidelines on game days for nearly the entirety of his rookie campaign.

As for Caliendo, he started several games at left guard down the stretch when the Chiefs slid Thuney out to left tackle to man the position following a number of injuries. He may insert himself back into the equation with a strong showing at training camp. Hunter Nourzad is also a player to watch who could press for more time.

That said, the Chiefs have made their stance on Suamataia crystal clear early in his second preseason with the team. He's playing between Josh Simmons at left tackle and Creed Humphrey at center every day so far in training camp, giving him every chance to win the job outright this summer.