Five looming questions for Kansas City Chiefs as they open training camp this week

The Chiefs’ quest for a three-peat begins this week, as quarterbacks and other select players will report Tuesday to training camp on Missouri Western’s campus in St. Joseph.

The Chiefs start earlier than most teams, for good reason: They will play in the NFL kickoff game on Thursday, Sept. 5, against the Baltimore Ravens, meaning practices start sooner. The veterans’ reporting day is Friday, and the team’s first open-to-fans practice follows on Sunday.

With that backdrop, here are five looming questions as the Chiefs begin camp.

Who will emerge as Patrick Mahomes’ left tackle?

This should be a top focus of training camp, as the Chiefs — following two Super Bowl titles — have no position more unsettled than left tackle.

The two candidates, for now, are second-round pick Kingsley Suamataia and 2023 third-round selection Wanya Morris.

There’s reason to think Suamataia might have an early lead. Though offensive linemen don’t go through full contact during summer drills at the team facility, the Chiefs still elevated Suamataia to first-stringer at left tackle for significant parts of those sessions. That would appear to be an early nod of confidence for the BYU product, whom Chiefs coach Andy Reid seemed to take a specific liking to during the draft process.

Remember this also: The Chiefs haven’t hesitated to start rookie offensive linemen when they’ve earned in the past, with center Creed Humphrey and right guard Trey Smith earning immediate roles after they were drafted in 2021.

It certainly doesn’t mean this competition is settled. Morris has NFL experience after starting four games at left tackle a year ago, and while he had more struggles later in the season, he showed flashes of pass-blocking ability that signal his best days could still be ahead with further development.

If all goes wrong, the Chiefs still have the option of late shopping. Last year’s starter Donovan Smith remains a free agent, while longtime Packers tackle David Bakhtiari also is unsigned.

The Chiefs’ preference, though, would be to resolve this spot for the long term after some musical chairs there in recent seasons. It’s why no player is likely to be more scrutinized over the next few weeks than Suamataia, who could solve a lot of Chiefs issues if he’s able to prove he can play right away.

Will the suspension be announced?

This much is clear: Chiefs receiver Rashee Rice will be suspended by the NFL at some point for his actions in an offseason Dallas car crash that seriously injured other drivers.

But when will that punishment come down? And how long will Rice be out for?

Those two questions will remain a focal point of training camp, even if the resolution might not come during the Chiefs’ stint in St. Joseph.

Rice, 24, emerged as one of KC’s best offensive players last season, setting a new NFL record for rookie postseason receptions with 26.

His future, though, remains muddied by his legal standing. He faces eight charges in connection with the crash, and because of the ongoing nature of that case, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported earlier this month there’s a possibility that the NFL could hold off on its Rice suspension altogether until all that is settled.

It leaves the Chiefs in somewhat of a predicament. If they knew Rice would be suspended at the start of the season, they could plan accordingly and work to get training camp reps to other guys. With Rice’s standing unresolved, however, the team will likely have to continue as it did in the summer, rolling Rice with the 1s with the possibility he’ll start (and perhaps even finish) the year as a starter.

Rice gave his first public comments about the crash at a charity event last month, responding to a Star question while saying, “I’ve learned so much from that. All I can do is mature and continue to grow from that. This is a step in a better direction for me.”

KC remains in a difficult spot while it waits for Rice’s full penalty, with the added challenge of proceeding on an uncertain timeline.

Who steps up following L’Jarius Sneed’s departure?

Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo gathered cornerbacks Jaylen Watson, Joshua Williams, and Nazeeh Johnson for a meeting this offseason to discuss what was needed from them after the team’s offseason trade of L’Jarius Sneed.

“We know what’s at stake and what we have to do,” Watson said of the conversation. “The best man is just gonna win the job.”

KC will need a new cornerback starter, and there are plenty of candidates to take over that No. 2 outside spot behind Trent McDuffie.

Williams should be considered one of the leaders at this point, and he said at the team’s ring ceremony, “I absolutely want to take on the role completely. I want to be the man in there. I want them to depend on me wholeheartedly to go in there and lock it down.”

Watson, also drafted in 2022 with Williams, has plenty of experience and a knack for making big plays. He’s recovering from torn labrum surgery in March.

Another person to watch: Fellow ‘22 draft pick Nazeeh Johnson, who was trending to be the Chiefs’ third cornerback in training camp last season before he tore his ACL and missed the season. He earned some time with the first team in practices this summer.

“I’m not gonna lie: I feel faster. I feel stronger. My hamstrings are a lot more bulletproof,” Johnson said in June. “Everything around my ACL is coming together. So now, just picking up where I left off.”

Will the Chiefs lock up one of their cornerstones?

This is the time of year for extension talks, and the Chiefs have three players from the 2021 NFL Draft who certainly could merit potential new deals.

At the top of the list is Humphrey, who, according to a recent ESPN article that polled NFL personnel, ranked as the seventh-best interior lineman in football.

Humphrey has made two All-Pro teams and two Pro Bowls in his three seasons with the Chiefs. And though he’s faced some recent snapping issues, general manager Brett Veach said at February’s NFL Combine that Humphrey could be part of the Chiefs’ long-term plans at either center or guard.

Smith — ninth on ESPN’s interior lineman ranking — will also be due for a big payday soon, whether with the Chiefs or in free agency. He’s locked down right guard for KC the last three seasons with high marks for his nastiness and physicality with run blocking.

KC must also decide whether to extend linebacker Nick Bolton, whose exact value might be difficult to quantify. Spagnuolo loves Bolton’s intelligence and leadership and even credits him with the defensive call that helped the Chiefs win the Super Bowl against the 49ers.

Other analysis might make the Chiefs more hesitant about locking up Bolton. He took a significant step back last year in Pro Football Focus’ grades while especially vulnerable with pass coverage. His off-ball linebacker position also usually comes relatively cheap in free agency — something KC used to its advantage before last year when it first signed Drue Tranquill to a one-year, $3 million deal.

The Chiefs don’t have gobs of money sitting around following Chris Jones’ massive deal this offseason, so Veach’s decision here will be noteworthy. KC will likely secure at least one of these cornerstones in the next few months ... and it’ll be worth paying attention to which player (or players) Veach picks.

Will the deep ball really make its return?

Mahomes revealed multiple times this summer that Reid has jokingly thrown little verbal jabs at him when the quarterback has thrown short instead of deep in practices.

It’s part of what will be one of the most-watched narratives of the entire NFL season: Can KC get back to its deep-throwing ways?

To his credit, Mahomes completely reinvented himself in recent seasons to cater to the pieces around him. After ranking fifth in the NFL in average depth of target in 2018 (9.2 yards), Mahomes was next-to-last among all signal-callers in that same stat in 2023.

In short: KC has quickened its passing game to help cover for a weakness that it couldn’t complete passes deep.

The Chiefs are certainly out to change that in 2024.

They signed fast free agent Hollywood Brown, one of the team’s top performers this summer. KC also moved up to get speedy Xavier Worthy in the first round of April’s draft, though his early contributions could be limited after he sat out on-field summer sessions with a hamstring injury.

Either way, KC has given itself multiple options to unlock Mahomes’ old strengths, hoping that an infusion of downfield threats will only loosen things up for guys like Travis Kelce and Rice underneath.

It’ll be worth monitoring how many deep balls the Chiefs can complete at training camp — and also who’s catching them. Those answers could be an early sign of whether KC’s offense can improve itself after some rough regular-season stretches in 2023.