One of the Chiefs’ most important training camp battles will be at left guard

While the spotlight has been on what Kansas City will do at left tackle, finding a new left guard will also be important.

The Kansas City Chiefs will conduct 2025’s first public training camp practice on July 22 at Missouri Western State University in St.Joseph, giving media and fans their first real look at the team since its Super Bowl LIX loss to the Philadelphia Eagles — a game in which the offensive line struggled mightily to protect quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

The Chiefs’ left guard was a big part of why that happened. Starting just the sixth game of his career, reserve interior offensive lineman Mike Caliendo was playing in place of All-Pro Joe Thuney, who had taken over at left tackle in mid-December. There, Caliendo struggled against one of the best defensive lines in the game.

In the offseason, Kansas City traded Thuney to the Chicago Bears, opening up a competition at left guard between Caliendo and soon-to-be-second-year player Kingsley Suamataia. Early in his rookie season, Suamataia had struggled as the starting left tackle — but in the regular-season finale against the Denver Broncos, he turned in a solid game at left guard.

After stepping in for Wanya Morris at left tackle in the Week 10 game against Denver, Suamataia essentially served only as a special-teams player until the season’s final game. In the offseason, the Chiefs signed free-agent tackle Jaylon Moore and selected former Ohio State left tackle Josh Simmons in the first round of the NFL Draft, making it clear the team now views Suamataia as an interior offensive lineman.

Although Caliendo has far less physical upside, he did earn the nod to start the biggest games of last season. So he’ll likely get the opening reps as the starting left guard in St. Joseph. But it appears the team wants Suamataia to earn his way into the job. Five years younger than Caliendo, the former second-round pick has tremendous athletic potential — especially in his movement ability. This makes him a good fit in the Kansas City offense, where the scheme depends on mobile guards to pull on screens and outside runs.

The best five

Meanwhile, Simmons and Moore will be competing for the left tackle job. Last week, head coach Andy Reid announced that Simmons would be fully ready for training camp, which creates some intrigue about what the team will do with Moore.

While with the San Francisco 49ers, what Moore did at tackle was similar to what the Chiefs do with their guards.

If Simmons falters in camp — or simply needs a “redshirt year” to adjust to the NFL game — it’s likely Moore will get the starting nod. But the Chiefs have been incredibly high on Simmons throughout the draft process — possibly indicating they knew he would be ready to go for the season — so if they decide Simmons can be Day 1’s left tackle, things could get interesting across the board.

While Moore was a backup for the 49ers’ starting left tackle Trent Williams, he is a good NFL player — better, in fact, than either Suamataia or Caliendo. Reid (and offensive line coach Andy Heck) have always favored a ‘‘best five” approach to the offensive line, so sliding Moore in at left guard — where he would almost be a better fit — might not be that far-fetched.

Other faces in the crowd

Other players we could see lining up at guard in camp include Morris, Hunter Nourzad and C.J. Hanson. When healthy, Morris has been Kansas City’s swing tackle during the past two seasons — and has also taken some snaps at guard during previous training camps. If it does turn into an open competition, the Chiefs will likely see what Morris can do at guard.

While Nourzad played in the final game of last season, most of his snaps came at center. As a versatile interior player, he will once again have a good chance to make the team’s active roster.

A former seventh-round pick, Hanson is a long shot to make the roster. Still, no stone must be left unturned; he will get his shot. I would still expect the Chiefs to keep him around as a practice squad player.

The bottom line

A strong interior offensive line is one of the keys to providing adequate protection for Mahomes and opening up holes in the running game. So this will be a critical training camp (and preseason) for Kansas City’s offensive line. While all the attention has been on what the team will do at left tackle, finding a long-term solution at left guard is just as important.

General manager Breett Veach and his personnel staff have done a good job stocking the roster with viable options along the offensive line. Now it will be up to the players (and the coaching staff) to work out the right solutions.