The Kansas City Chiefs under Andy Reid have historically treated the third preseason game as the final rehearsal for the regular season so few starters end up playing in the fourth and final week of the NFL preseason schedule.
That means Alex Smith and most of the Chiefs starters should be done in this preseason with Patrick Mahomes taking the preseason finale on Thursday night.
“We’ll go ahead and let Patrick start this week,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said on Sunday. “Most likely, the twos will be taking that group along with him and then Tyler (Bray) will also play. I can’t tell you exactly how long I’m going to go with those guys and Joel (Stave) will get into the game also at the quarterback spot. And everybody else kind of follows that as we go.”
So that’s it for most of the starers.
Overall, I feel good about their preseason except for this most recent game against the Seahawks. I don’t think preseason success or failure really translates to the regular season. The Chiefs starters won’t be lining up for almost two more weeks (September 7, in case you forgot).
The Chiefs used to make roster cuts before this final preseason game (90 to 75) and then again after it (75 to 53). Instead of going from 90 to 75 this year, the NFL is going straight from 90 to 53 after the preseason finale next week. So this final preseason game is for those Chiefs trying to make the back end of the roster or a practice squad spot or just getting some tape out there for other teams. Or your future franchise quarterback.