Several Chiefs Ruled Out for Preseason Finale vs. Seahawks, Andy Reid Drops QB Plan

In the blink of an eye, the Kansas City Chiefs' 2026 preseason slate is almost over with. The club will wrap up its three-game stretch on Friday night against the Seattle Seahawks, serving as one last chance for players to leave an impression on the coaching staff and front office before cutdowns on Sunday.

Unfortunately for Kansas City, many will miss the finale at home due to injuries. Speaking to the media on Wednesday afternoon, head coach Andy Reid provided a multitude of updates on the health front and also outlined his plans for the week.

Andy Reid announces flurry of Chiefs who will miss Seahawks game

Kicking things off, Reid revealed the list of players who will sit out Friday's contest versus Seattle. It's a crowded group that contains everything from household names (Patrick Mahomes wasn't mentioned, but he's also out) to organizational depth pieces:

LB Jack Cochrane (knee)
S Chamarri Conner (knee)
DE Ashton Gillotte (foot)
G C.J. Hanson (undisclosed)
WR Jimmy Holiday (quad)
QB Chris Oladokun (concussion)
LT Josh Simmons (back)
DE Tyreke Smith (hamstring)
RB Kenneth Walker III (foot/ankle)

None of these names should come as much of a surprise. Gillotte, for example, suffered a ruptured plantar fascia near the end of training camp and faces an uphill battle to be ready for Week 1 of the regular season. Reid said the sophomore pass rusher is now in a walking boot.

Elsewhere, Oladokun seemed to pass is in-game concussion test last Saturday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but reentered protocol in the aftermath of the contest. That leaves the door wide open for rookie Garrett Nussmeier to take the reins; more on that shortly.

Smith, a fifth-round pick by the Seahawks last year, suffered a hamstring injury in the same Bucs game. Reid didn't know the severity at the time but admitted it was enough to force him out of the remainder of the outing.

Chiefs can breathe a sigh of relief regarding Kenneth Walker III's injury

The biggest scare of the week was Walker's injury. Kansas City's prized free agent pickup has missed a couple of practices in a row with a foot/ankle injury, although it doesn't seem to be anything to worry about long-term.

According to Reid, a shoe-related issue caused Walker's ankle to swell up. The team is exercising some caution with its high-dollar addition by sitting him out for just a bit.

"The last couple of days, Kenneth Walker, his shoe has caused some swelling on his ankle there," Reid said. "So we're trying to get that down, but he's OK. He's going to be fine, but we're trying to just get that out of there."

Considering that Walker has dealt with foot soreness and other injuries in the past, this is about as good of news as possible for KC.

A full workload for Garrett Nussmeier could be coming on Friday

Finally, Reid discussed his quarterback blueprint for Friday's game. With Oladokun tracking to be sidelined, it'll be the Nussmeier show against the Seahawks.

"I might as well address that," Reid said. "The young kid's going to go, Nuss is going to go. He'll start the game — those two were going to split the game. This was all in advance, so don't make anything of it."

Reid said there's even a world where the first-year signal-caller plays the entire game to close out the preseason.

"There's a chance," Reid said. "I mean, Justin (Fields), I told him to just keep it loose there. If not, then Garrett... I'm sure they all would love to play a full game, and now he has a chance, potentially.

In his unofficial team debut versus the Los Angeles Rams, the LSU product wowed by completing 13 of 19 passes for 98 yards. A couple of near-misses easily could've gotten him to 200-plus yards and a pair of touchdowns. While his raw box score production last weekend was ugly (9-of-17, 74 yards), Reid thought he performed well anyway.

Reid believes Nussmeier receiving such extended reps in practice could translate to a game environment in due time.

"He's done a nice job," Reid said. "We threw him right into the fire there with the first group. I thought he handled it well. It wasn't a big shock to him. He looked like he stepped in, took it on and had good leadership and tempo in and out of the huddle, those things. It was positive, I think. It'll pay off for him down the road, I think. It's a good thing."

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