Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has flexed his muscles and made a big change to his lineup ahead of tonight’s showdown with the Atlanta Falcons.
The Super Bowl champions are 2-0 heading into their primetime Week 3 showdown at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but haven’t been at their lights-out best so far.
In a bid to change that, Reid has made a bold call to try and offer quarterback Patrick Mahomes some more protection, bringing in a new left tackle and blindside protector.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, second-year offensive lineman Wanya Morris will start the game, in place of second-round rookie Kingsley Suamataia – who heads to the bench.
Suamataia was drafted No 63 overall out of BYU and impressed enough during training camp to be handed the start in Week 1.
He struggled in Week 2 against the Bengals though, allowing Trey Hendrickson to sack Mahomes twice.
He was eventually pulled from the game, and it is understood he won’t start for Sunday night’s primetime clash in Atlanta.
Coach Reid didn’t announce the decision during his press conference on Friday, only telling reporters that both tackles were fit and available play.
Explaining the reason for pulling Suamataia from the game, he revealed the rookie ‘needed to take a step back to take a step forward.’
He then added: ‘We haven’t lost confidence in him. He was going against a good player, and he’s got to learn from it.’