When the Kansas City Chiefs play the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3 on “Sunday Night Football,” they will start a few different players in the lineup.
While some of those adjustments will be connected to injury, others will be performance-based. Compared to the opening few weeks of the 2024 NFL season, the Chiefs will be introducing some new players and looks, for better or worse. It is hoped that the modifications will enable them to continue playing at the high caliber that has led to their 2-0 start.
Warriors rookie LT Kingsley Suamataia will start in place of Wanya Morris, according to reports.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, second-year left tackle Wanya Morris will start at left tackle on Sunday night instead of rookie left tackle Kingsley Suamataia. Given that Chiefs head coach Andy Reid informed reporters on Friday that both Morris and Suamataia will play in Week 3 against the Falcons, this comes as a bit of a surprise. It was intended that Suamataia would be replaced if he struggled and given an opportunity to keep his starting position. It’s not true as stated. On Sunday night, Morris will get the first crack at the bat.
It’s evident that the Chiefs think Morris is now the more proficient player in terms of technique and execution. Look no further than his performance against the Bengals in Week 2 as an eligible receiver—scoring a touchdown while knowing he would be wide open to do so. Last season, he made his starting debut and was thrust into the fire as a rookie. In the few snaps he took Suamataia’s place, it was clear that he wouldn’t have the same inaccuracies in technique that Suamataia would inevitably have as a rookie.
In the long run, the Chiefs intend to resolve some of Suamataia’s technique-related problems in practice. They hope that this is only a temporary setback for a player who will likely be a long-term member of the team.
The coaches of the Chiefs are trying to get Jaden Hicks onto the field more often.
In Week 3 of the NFL season in 2024, the Chiefs may progressively start to see more of one rookie defender against the Falcons. Against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2, Kansas City had a preview of S Jaden Hicks. Despite only playing five snaps in injury relief last week, the coaching staff was persuaded by the rookie’s need for more defensive playing time.
Chiefs defensive backfield coach Dave Merritt stated on Thursday, “Yeah, when (Justin) Reid had his little boo-boo on his finger the other day, Jaden (Hicks) went right in and ended up showing up on a couple of plays for us.” He is therefore maturing just as we anticipated, but in terms of his future position, I believe we will get to see him a little more. Steve Spagnuolo, aka Spags, and I have discussed it. That should be arriving shortly, but he’s an incredible football player. If at all possible, we would prefer to keep getting him in there.”
This week, watch for the possibility of Hicks playing in one sub-package on the defensive end of the field. As a multiphase player and unit leader on special teams, the rookie will also continue to be extremely important.
Dave Toub, the special teams coordinator for the Chiefs, stated on Thursday, “He’s in a lot of key spots for us right now.” He’s our punt playmaker (PP), meaning he calls every play, and he’s also the punt return MIKE. Thus, he bears the responsibility of being able to stop a team from running a fake, much like how we handled (Daniel) Sorenson in the past. He will therefore be able to learn football instincts and game pace as he assumes many important tasks for us and develop into a safer. And every week he improves much more. He never commits the same error twice. However, I’m incredibly grateful for him.”
Reid stated on Wednesday that Carson Steele “is going to have to step it up there in that role.” “I believe this will be a wonderful challenge for him because I believe he enjoys challenges. Clearly, he needs to keep the ball tight and high. He needs to make sure he learns from his mistake from yesterday because he hasn’t been like that before.
Without a doubt, Sunday’s game against the Falcons will include a healthy dosage of Samaje Perine and possibly even some Keaontay Ingram. They won’t work in Kareem Hunt this week, but they will eventually. But Steele will have an opportunity to play the role of Kansas City’s bell cow.
Todd Pinkston, the Chiefs’ running backs coach, stated on Thursday that Carson Steele is simply going in with confidence. “His work ethic is evident, and the things he is accomplishing are truly remarkable.”
Reports from this week’s practice were positive, but he needs to be able to maintain that momentum and play flawless football on Sunday. Having said that, you would assume Coach Reid was referring about Isiah Pacheco if you didn’t know he was talking about Steele.
“Carson Steele” is reticent, Reid stated on Friday. “Every play, he just kind of goes in and does his thing and goes 100 miles an hour, and he did a nice job with it this week.
