Arrowhead Pride
Saturday evening, the Kansas City Chiefs open up their preseason schedule with a road game against the Arizona Cardinals, giving us our first look at the team near the end of training camp, which will conclude Wednesday at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph.
Kansas City head coach Andy Reid said that his starters would play during the first quarter, but it’s likely that they will play only a series or two. So the matchup will be a tremendous opportunity for those on the back half of the 90-man roster to prove they have what it takes.
There may only be a handful of starting spots up for grabs, but there will be stiff competition for the last few spots on the roster.
Training camp’s biggest story has been first-round rookie Josh Simmons’ emergence as the clear-cut starter at left tackle. The early questions about his health — and his readiness to play at the pro level — appear to be resolved. He has taken every one of training camp’s first-team snaps.
While Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith are both locks as the team’s starting center and right guard, there are still questions about left guard and right tackle. While Kingsley Suamataia and Jawaan Taylor have both played the majority of snaps at these positions, free-agent acquisition Jaylon Moore has rotated into both spots during camp. More recently, Moore has been rotating almost exclusively at right tackle. It will be interesting to see how Moore is used on Saturday night.
Second and third-round picks Omarr Norman-Lott and Ashton Gillotte will both make their professional debuts on Saturday night. Both have had plenty of attention during training camp, getting significant work with the first team.
Early in camp, Lott — a defensive tackle — missed some time with an ankle injury. But since then, he’s often been on the field with the starters, drawing praise from his teammates. Meanwhile, Gillotte — a defensive end — started camp a little slowly. Since then, however, he has picked up momentum, putting together a string of solid performances.
Kansas City’s defensive line is one of the team’s deepest position groups. Seeing Norman-Lott and Gillotte get their first taste of live NFL action should be fun to watch.
Another big storyline has revolved around the former New England Patriots wideout, who came to the league as a second-round pick in 2022. He’s also spent lots of time with the first team during training camp, making some downfield plays with quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Thornton joined the Chiefs’ practice squad after New England released him in November. This season, he’s looking to revive his career – and after spending an entire offseason in Kansas City, he appears to have developed a nice chemistry with Mahomes.
While the Chiefs’ offense will likely keep it simple on Saturday night, keeping an eye on Thornton’s usage and snap...
