5 Chiefs Playing for Their Job in Preseason Week 1

As the Chiefs prepare to face the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1 of the NFL preseason, these five Kansas City players have found themselves playing for their respective jobs.

QB Ian Book is playing for his job in Week 1 of the preseason. / Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

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3. Keaontay Ingram, RB

The Chiefs added several veteran free agents this offseason, including former Arizona Cardinals running back Keaontay Ingram.

Ingram is one of five RBs who's competing for the No. 3 spot behind Isiah Pacheco and Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Louis Rees-Zammit, Carson Steele, Emani Bailey, and Deneric Prince are either rookies or in their second NFL campaign, meaning that (in theory) Ingram should have an edge over the bunch due to experience.

However, it might take more for the former Texas/USC product to lock down a roster spot.

Even though Ingram has played more NFL games than the competition, let's not act like he's balling out on the gridiron. The 24-year-old rusher only averaged 2.2 rushing yards on 62 carries across the last two seasons, finding the end zone on just one of those opportunities. That just isn't going to look attractive to any head coach.

Ingram's standing in the lineup has only slipped now that Prince is having a strong start to training camp. With the ex-Tulsa rusher now seeing time with Kansas City's first offensive team, it's clear that Ingram must have a strong preseason performance if he doesn't want to fall out of head coach Reid's favor.

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