The Kansas City Chiefs are going into Week 18 with nothing on the line record-wise after clinching home-field advantage and a first-round bye in the postseason.
Head coach Andy Reid has already announced that Patrick Mahomes will rest against the Denver Broncos, which provides insight into his availability for players, which could depend on contract incentives.
“Look at those. Yeah, like we did with Chris (Jones) last year. Yeah, sure. We look at all that for sure.” said Reid. “Yeah, we want the guys to be able to reach them if they’re reachable.”
Reid will be juggling roster options. Due to the limited roster availability, he told reporters he couldn’t treat Week 18 like a preseason game.
“Well, you get two elevations, that’s all, 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,” said Reid. “If somebody wants to start messing with it, then there’s not a lot of messing going on. So I’m sure that’s for a reason. So guys play, you know, that’s how it goes.”
During the preseason, rosters are expanded to fit multiple players at each position from training camp ahead of final cuts. The same method would be impossible for a regular-season roster of active players.