The Kansas City Chiefs survived a last-second scare to stay undefeated by beating the Denver Broncos on Sunday, but the most concerning development of the day came from the left side of KC's offensive line.
When starting left tackle Wanya Morris left the game due to a knee injury early in the second quarter, rookie second-round pick Kingsley Suamataia took the field in Morris's stead. While Suamataia began the year as KC's starting left tackle, a disastrous Week 2 performance led to a late-game benching, and Morris, a second-year third-rounder, has held the starting job ever since.
With another difficult day for Suamataia (and a less-than-stellar recent stretch from Morris), Kansas City's left tackle position has returned to the forefront. During his Monday press conference, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid discussed the status of the position group before being asked about the team's plans for the second half of the season.
"We were tested in a couple spots," Reid said. "It'll help us grow, is what it'll help us do, and particularly at that tackle position. We're young at the left tackle spot, we'll keep getting better as we go and experience some of these things. I think Wanya will end up being OK when it's all said and done here, as far as his leg goes, and he was able to come back in and play, and Kingsley will learn from what we had there and keep getting better."
If the Chiefs were to add veteran help, could Donovan Smith, last year's starting left tackle, be the answer for protecting Patrick Mahomes's blindside? On Sunday, Smith responded to a post on Twitter/X from fellow former Chiefs offensive lineman Jeff Allen, seeming to imply that he'd be ready to answer a theoretical phone call.
On Monday, Reid was asked about Smith's tweet and if the Chiefs have given any consideration to calling Smith (or any other elder tackle) to add a veteran presence to KC's tackle depth chart. Reid quickly deferred to general manager Brett Veach.
"That's Veach's area," Reid said. "I mean, he looks at everything, so I'm not going to say 'no,' but what we do as coaches, and we over-emphasize, we're going to focus in on these kids that are here, and they're getting better. I know it's hard to see at times, but there's progress being made, and we're going to be OK as we go forward."
