While most teams have opted to sit out their key starters for the preseason opener, it appears the Kansas City Chiefs are going against the grain.
According to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk, head coach Andy Reid plans on having Mahomes play the entire first quarter:
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said today that quarterback Patrick Mahomes will play the first quarter in Saturday night’s opener against the Bengals.
The decision to play Mahomes may come as a surprise considering the vast majority of teams have been hesitant to play their starters, let alone the franchise quarterback. However, it appears the Chiefs still have plenty of work to do on the offensive end and are looking to take advantage of the time they have left before the start of the 2019 NFL season.
It can be difficult to pinpoint the areas of improvement for a player coming off an MVP season. Mahomes managed to establish himself as one of the NFL's elite quarterbacks in just his first year as a starter. Although such a performance will be hard to top in 2019, it is clear Reid is doing what he can to ensure that they can replicate their success.
Still, the risks of having Mahomes play in a meaningless game are still too difficult to ignore. The prospect of him getting injured outweighs any potential advantage he may gain in the preseason, especially when expectations are now as high as ever in Kansas City. It will be interesting to see how long Reid continues this approach moving forward.
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