5 Chiefs Immediately on Thin Ice to Begin 2025 Offseason

2. Mike Caliendo, Guard

Anybody that watched the Super Bowl knows that the Chiefs offensive line was a big reason why they lost. The Eagles sacked Mahomes six times in Sunday’s loss and generated pressure consistently despite the fact Vic Fangio didn’t blitz the entire game. The performance was reminiscent of the Chiefs loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV and that triggered a full-scale rebuild in the trenches.

While Creed Humphrey, Joe Thuney and Jawaan Taylor have a good chance to return Trey Smith’s pending free agency could give the Chiefs a new look. This season also highlighted the importance of depth for Kansas City and Mike Caliendo could get lost in the shuffle.

Caliendo only started three games for the Chiefs last season but struggled when he was put into emergency duty. The undrafted free agent out of Western Michigan entered the starting lineup when Thuney moved to left tackle late in the season and allowed 13 pressures and a 6.2 pressure rate on pass blocking snaps excluding when the Chiefs rested their starters in a Week 18 loss to the Denver Broncos.

The trend continued during the Super Bowl as Caliendo allowed just two pressures but was tagged with an abysmal 32.0 overall grade with matching 30.1 grades in run blocking and pass blocking.

Like Johnson, Caliendo is probably not a player the Chiefs want to have starting. But they may have to shuffle some pieces around this offseason. If the Chiefs find a free agent or draft pick to fill the void, Caliendo could be playing for a job during training camp.