KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid made it clear that one of his offensive superstars would not play in the team’s Week 18 game at the Los Angeles Chargers.
The other one, though? The matter still appears undecided.
Here’s what we know: Barring multiple injuries, quarterback Patrick Mahomes will not take the field in the Chiefs’ regular-season finale against the Chargers.
“Pat won’t play,” Reid said Wednesday.
That means backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert will get the start, while practice squad QB Chris Oladokun will be elevated for Sunday’s game.
Reid did go through a worst-case scenario Wednesday, which would include Gabbert getting injured. If that happened, Oladokun would enter the game, with Mahomes having to head to the locker room to put on his jersey, just in case Oladokun needed to come out.
Given the limited stakes of the game — the Chiefs are locked into the AFC’s No. 3 seed regardless of Sunday’s outcome — Mahomes going in as a third-string QB would likely only require him to hand the ball off with the team looking to avoid all risk of injury.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, however, could play, as getting into Sunday’s game could have significance.
Kelce is 16 receiving yards away from 1,000 for the year. He’s hit that mark seven seasons in a row — a record for an NFL tight end — and potentially could secure that landmark with a few early passes before exiting.
When asked if he’d consider playing guys on the verge of important statistical numbers, Reid said, “It depends. It depends on what the milestone is.”
And what if the record was someone trying to reach his eighth straight 1,000-yard receiving season?
“We’ll see,” Reid said. “We’ll see how that goes.”
Reid said any talks about playing or resting were likely to be “one-sided.” In the past, the coach has talked often about getting 51% of the vote on certain team decisions, meaning Kelce’s status Sunday is likely to come down to what Reid thinks is best.
Gabbert, meanwhile, spoke about the possibility of trying to get Kelce his 1,000 yards if he does play.
“He genuinely loves football, and if he wants to play, he’ll play. And if it’s Coach Reid’s decision to have him rest, he’s gonna rest,” Gabbert said. “Ultimately, that’s on Coach Reid. But if we’re out there, we’re going to do our damn best to get him 17 yards.”
