Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has often made headlines for his unusual approach to the preseason. In a league that prioritizes health over reps, Reid has consistently gone against this trend.
Key Kansas City starters often get at least some preseason reps in preparation for Week 1. One could argue the Chiefs' results over the last half decade speak for themselves, and we're even starting to see contenders around the league adopt this approach, too.
There is a balance in this, however, with early preseason reps being extremely limited for key players. Patrick Mahomes is obviously included in this as the league's star quarterback.
Still, Reid has given Mahomes the ability to play in the preseason, valuing the reps over the potential injury risk. He did so again on Saturday, but albeit for a very short time.
The official playing time: 48 seconds. https://t.co/vl1nc95BcI
— Sam McDowell (@SamMcDowell11) August 10, 2025
Chiefs Bench Patrick Mahomes After Brief First Quarter Appearance
The head coach is going to protect his franchise star, and this was one full display in the preseason opener. While Mahomes started as expected, the quarterback threw one pass and was pulled from the game after 48 seconds of action.
It was enough for the quarterback to take the field and get in a few reps without consistently putting his health at risk. It was also a bit of a misdirect from Reid, who he seemed to tease more playing time for Mahomes with his comments going into the game about the star playing the first quarter. Granted he didn't say it'd be the entire first period, and fans know what to expect from Reid at this point in terms of pulling his starters, but only 48 seconds for Mahomes still caught a few by surprise.
Gardner Minshew would take over briefly before the Chiefs turned their attention to the race for the emergency quarterback role. Minshew is locked in as the primary backup, with the only question mark at the position being the final spot.
Regardless, the point remains that Reid is continuing to walk a very fine line of having his players ready for the season while protecting them from possible injuries. The handling of Mahomes in the preseason's first game is the perfect example of this and was the right decision.
The star quarterback going down at any point ends the Kansas City season, something Reid is well aware of when weighing these risks. What KC does so well is completely built around having the league's best quarterback. Making Reid's decision to quickly pull the star the perfect move as we continue to move towards the regular season.