Breaking: Reid’s Regulars Get Ready to Rest: Chiefs HC Confirms Plans for Starters in Week 18, with a Twist

The Kansas City Chiefs will officially start backup quarterback Carson Wentz against the Denver Broncos in Week 18 of the 2024 NFL season.

Chiefs HC Andy Reid confirmed to reporters on Wednesday that Wentz would, in fact, get his first start with Kansas City in Sunday’s game. The former No. 2 overall pick has appeared in just two games this season, throwing two passes for 20 yards in Week 15 against the Cleveland Browns.

“Carson (Wentz) is going to visit with you here in a little bit, but he’ll end up being the starting quarterback,” Reid said. “Then we’ll kind of work things from there on, who goes and who doesn’t go. I mean, you remember last year how the offensive line played and rotated in and out? So, those types of things could potentially take place in this one depending on the positions.”

Wentz, 32, has a 47-45-1 career record as a starter over his nine-year NFL career. He’s completed 2,075 passes for 22,312 yards, 153 touchdowns, and 67 interceptions. Reid indicated earlier this week that Wentz deserves a starting opportunity in this league, and he’ll get a chance to prove it on Sunday against a Broncos team fighting for their playoff lives.

“First of all, I have a lot of respect for him,” Reid said. “I think he’s a good football player. I think he’s got a good feel for this offense, whether he’s developed it or had some of the stuff prior to coming here. He’s got a good feel and then he deserves an opportunity to get in there and play. And at the same time, it gives Pat (Mahomes) time to work on certain things that he’ll do during the practices.”

While players like Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Chris Jones are likely to sit in Week 18, not every starter will have that luxury. Reid addressed how he’ll handle other positions besides quarterback, indicating that they’ll treat it almost like a preseason game in terms of rotations. He indicated that it could look a lot like last season, especially how they handle their offensive line.

In a perfect world, Reid would rest every starter to give others opportunities, but the roster size simply won’t allow that. After practice squad elevations, they’ll still have a maximum of 48 gameday active players and 55 total players to choose from. That means they’ll have to dress some of their starters on Sunday, no matter the situation.

“Yeah, well, you get two elevations, that’s all,” Reid said. “So it’s hard to do all of that. I mean, the rosters are small now where you got to play guys, and that’s how, you know, that’s how it goes. I mean, if somebody wants to start messing with it, then there’s not a whole lot of messing going on.”

As far as potential practice squad elevations, look for third-string QB Chris Oladokun and new LB Blake Lynch to get the call-up for Kansas City. They’ll need a backup QB for Wentz, with Mahomes expected to be inactive. Cam Jones is the only backup linebacker on the 53-man roster after the recent injury to LB Jack Cochrane.