Five Chiefs players with the most at stake in preseason opener in Arizona
After 14 days on the sun-drenched Missouri Western practice fields, the Chiefs have arrived in sun-drenched Arizona this weekend.
Alas, from where it begins to where it once ended quite well.
The Chiefs will open their preseason schedule at 7 p.m. Saturday against the Cardinals at State Farm Stadium in Glendale — the site of their Super Bowl LVII victory against the Eagles.
This trip will carry a little less weight than that one, but it will still carry some meaning — and for a few players in particular.
Here’s a look at players with a lot on the line this preseason:
1. Kingsley Suamataia, LG
That’s left guard Kingsley Suamataia, as opposed to left tackle Kingsley Suamataia.
If you rank the importance of this game for all 90 players on the Chiefs’ roster, Suamataia should be a runaway winner.
He’s a lock to make the roster, to be clear, but that’s about the only certainty encompassing a player who was benched in Week 2 of his rookie season, never to see regular meaningful snaps again. And now the Chiefs are prepared to give him all of the meaningful snaps this year.
Had the Chiefs played him more in the exhibition games a year ago, they might’ve discovered before the season that he wasn’t ready, as opposed to enduring a startling in-season revelation.
Which brings up an interesting dilemma in the three-game preseason slate. To avoid the same mistake, the Chiefs ought to provide Suamataia more extensive playing time before the games really count — but they also need to build his confidence after last year’s benching.
2. Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Edge
One first-round pick — left tackle Josh Simmons — is the talk of camp.
Another is inconspicuous.
Anudike-Uzomah, the first-round choice in 2023, is having his best training camp of his three years, believe it or not, but he’s buried on the depth chart. How buried? Well, that’s why he’s on this list — his play over these three games will answer that.
For now, he’s basically operated as the fifth edge rusher in practices, playing behind George Karlaftis, Charles Omenihu, Mike Danna and rookie Ashton Gillotte. (The Star’s Blair Kerkhoff informed you more on where the rookies stand, if you’re interested in that aspect of this.)
Anudike-Uzomah does have one thing on his size: age. He’s still just 23 years old, which would have made him younger than dozens of the prospects from the 2025 NFL Draft.
But it’s time to get rolling. If he wants to not only secure a spot on the 53-man roster but the regular gameday roster, he needs to impress this preseason.
3. Jason Brownlee, WR
My pick to put up the best stats this preseason?
It’s Jason Brownlee, a 26-year-old receiver who, well, admittedly hasn’t put up stats in his first two NFL seasons (five catches, 56 yards, one touchdown).
But with Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown missing the past week of camp — and almost certainly sidelined for the game in Arizona — Brownlee has starred while getting some reps with the starters. That’s not an exaggeration. He’s really been terrific recently.
In the shortest description possible: Brownlee is who Chiefs fans thought Justyn Ross was. We’ve seen him high-point touchdown catches with relative ease, yet he can also get open.
He looks every bit the part of an NFL player, even if it’s still hard to find a spot for him on the Chiefs’ initial 53. You can’t help but wonder if the Chiefs provide him a lot of snaps, perhaps even to let the rest of the league see what they’ve seen recently — because if the game tape mirrors the training camp tape, there will be suitors.
4. Tyquan Thornton, WR
Another receiver?
Another receiver.
Tyquan Thornton has followed an impressive summer with a pretty strong training camp, even if there were a couple of drops Thursday he’d like to have back. But if you post anything resembling that kind of praise on social media, you’ll be greeted with an onslaught of Patriots fans telling you they’ve heard that before. Go ahead. Try it.
The point is that while Thornton is clearly on the right side of the roster bubble for the moment — he’s playing almost exclusively with the starters during training camp — it wouldn’t hurt to see him produce in an actual game.
There’s an opportunity to more than survive cutdown day. The Chiefs could use his speed to help stretch the field in a Marquez Valdes-Scantling type of role — you know, except someone who can better track the ball in flight. Patrick Mahomes has targeted Brownlee downfield more than any receiver in St. Joseph.
5. Brashard Smith, RB
Pick any of the running backs for this list for a compelling story.
• Isiah Pacheco is coming off multiple injuries from last season and looks healthy again.
• Kareem Hunt wasn’t even on a roster at this time a year ago.
• Elijah Mitchell has had a slow start in camp. Could he accelerate in the game?
• Carson Steele was the preseason darling a year ago but will be fighting for a job.
• But the most compelling of the group, for now, sits with Brashard Smith, a seventh-round pick in the spring.
Smith is quite clearly still learning an NFL playbook — and the requirements in pass protection — but he can get to an explosive gear more quickly (and easily) than any of his backfield mates.
There’s one more significant element at play: The Chiefs are trying Smith as a return man, a job that currently belongs to wide receiver Nikko Remigio. If Smith can impress in that role, though, it could change the roster math later this month.
The Chiefs know what they can get from Remigio. Special-teams coordinator Dave Toub likes to rotate the return men in preseason games, but it might not be a bad idea to offer Smith a heavier workload and see what they really have.