Western Michigan Professional Athletes

The Chiefs' Offensive Line Shake-Up Has WMU Fingerprints All Over It

Kansas City's Week 4 win over the Las Vegas Raiders came with an unexpected subplot — and Western Michigan alumni were right in the middle of it.

Starting left guard Kingsley Suamataia was a surprise scratch from the lineup when the Chiefs kicked off Sunday, with head coach Andy Reid offering nothing more than a pointed "coaching decision" when pressed for answers. The terse explanation only deepened speculation that the benching was disciplinary in nature, a detail later corroborated by a Chiefs insider who provided context suggesting it wasn't simply a performance issue.

The beneficiary of the shuffle? Fellow Bronco alum Mike Caliendo, a fifth-year veteran who stepped into Suamataia's starting spot at left guard. The promotion didn't go smoothly — Caliendo struggled notably in pass protection throughout the game — which made the optics of the benching all the more curious. Suamataia, by most accounts, had been playing well this season, making his absence even harder to explain from a purely football standpoint.

Reid's post-game update did little to clarify the situation, described by insiders as ominous. Whether Suamataia returns to the starting lineup in Week 5 remains an open question, and one that Chiefs fans will be watching closely. For now, Kansas City's offensive line — and its Western Michigan pipeline — is in an uncomfortable spotlight.

The Chiefs did get the victory despite the turmoil up front, so the short-term damage was contained. But with Suamataia's status unclear heading into the next week of practice, the longer-term implications for one of Kansas City's key linemen are very much unresolved.

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Elsewhere in the NFL, WMU alumni had a quiet week without any major statistical contributions. Skyy Moore, now with the Green Bay Packers, caught one pass for minus-2 yards in Green Bay's 17–14 win over Tampa Bay — a marginal showing for a receiver still looking to carve out consistent production in his new home. Zaire Barnes suited up for the Giants in their 36–24 loss to Arizona, while Robert Spillane and the Patriots pulled off a 29–26 upset of the Bills. Rodney McGraw was in uniform for Miami's loss to Minnesota but registered no notable individual stats.

The story of the week, though, belongs to Kansas City's offensive line drama. For a program that has steadily built an NFL pipeline through the trenches, having two Broncos at the center of a major in-season controversy — one sitting in street clothes, the other grinding through a difficult afternoon in his place — is the kind of moment that defines how far Western Michigan's pro footprint has grown. The question now is what comes next for Suamataia.

Broncos in the Spotlight: Moore's Returns, Benson's Rise

Western Michigan is having a week in the NFL — and not in a background-player kind of way. Two Broncos alumni are front-page stories for two of the league's marquee franchises.

Skyy Moore Rescues Green Bay

The Packers nearly kicked away a win against the Jets on Sunday, September 20. Nearly. Skyy Moore made sure they didn't.

According to Yahoo Sports, Green Bay would not have won without Moore's kick and punt returns — he racked up more return yards than all other Packers players combined in the 20-17 victory. His receiving line on the day was modest (2 catches, 6 yards), but that stat line misses the point entirely. Moore was the difference-maker in a one-score game, single-handedly keeping Green Bay's offense afloat with field position that the offense alone couldn't manufacture.

The context makes it even more remarkable. The Athletic reported this week that Moore has already revived what was the NFL's worst punt return unit entering the season — a turnaround that few saw coming after Green Bay struggled mightily in the return game last year.

Moore also appeared in Thursday's loss to the Falcons (14-35), catching 3 passes for 31 yards, though the blowout obscured any individual contributions. Still, his week as a whole cements his status as one of the most impactful special-teams weapons in the NFC.

Kahlil Benson Earning His Stripes in Kansas City

Across the league, another Western Michigan product is making noise — just more quietly, in the trenches.

Rookie left tackle Kahlil Benson landed the starting job in Kansas City after projected starter Josh Simmons went down with a back injury during training camp. Rather than turn to veteran Jaylon Moore (yes, another WMU alum on the Chiefs roster), head coach Andy Reid handed the keys to the rookie. Benson has answered the call.

The start has been strong enough that Reid felt compelled to issue a public word of caution, per Heavy Sports — a classic "don't get too comfortable" message that coaches send when they're impressed but don't want a young player to lose focus. For a first-round-caliber concern like the left tackle spot, entrusting it to a rookie and then watching him thrive is no small development for Kansas City's Super Bowl ambitions.

It also means WMU now has two alumni on the Chiefs' offensive line, with Mike Caliendo holding down a guard spot. Kalamazoo is quietly building a pipeline into one of the league's premier franchises.

Around the League

The week wasn't all highlights for Broncos alumni. Linebacker Zaire Barnes and the Giants were routed by the Rams 28-6 on Monday night, while Robert Spillane's Patriots handled Pittsburgh 20-3 on Sunday — a bright spot for New England, even if Spillane's individual numbers weren't captured in available game data.

The headline, though, belongs to Moore and Benson. One is resurrecting a unit that was an embarrassment a season ago. The other is protecting a franchise quarterback as a rookie. Western Michigan's NFL footprint keeps growing — and this week, it's growing in the right direction.

Western Michigan Alumni Report | NFL | Week of Sept. 13–19, 2026

Jaylon Moore's days as a starter in Kansas City may be numbered.

The Western Michigan product has been a serviceable presence along the Chiefs' offensive line, but his roster security is now under real pressure. Kansas City is predicted to bench Moore once rookie offensive tackle Josh Simmons returns from injury — a move that would relegate the 6-foot-4 veteran to a backup role, if he survives the depth-chart shuffle at all. Simmons has been tabbed internally as a "hidden gem," and the Chiefs' willingness to make that switch signals that Moore's window to secure long-term standing in Kansas City is narrowing fast.

Moore was in uniform for Kansas City's dominant 31–10 blowout of Denver on Monday, September 14th, but the box score told only part of the story. Playing time and job security are two different things, and the latter is now in genuine question. For a former undrafted lineman who has clawed his way onto an NFL roster and carved out a role on one of the league's premier franchises, the threat from Simmons represents the stiffest challenge of his professional career.

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Elsewhere in the WMU alumni network, Robert Spillane provided a moment that transcended box scores. The Patriots linebacker made headlines not for a stat line but for a profanity-laced show of support for quarterback Drake Maye following New England's loss to Seattle — a public display of locker-room solidarity that drew attention league-wide. It's the kind of leadership moment that defines a veteran's value beyond scheme fit and snap counts, and Spillane, now in New England after years with Pittsburgh and Las Vegas, is clearly taking ownership of his role as a vocal presence in what's still a developing Patriots locker room.

Skyy Moore had a quiet week as the Packers fell to Minnesota, 39–22, on Sunday — a result that raised early-season questions about Green Bay's offense. Moore, who changed teams from Kansas City in an effort to revive his career, will need more out of the coming weeks to justify optimism about his fresh start in Wisconsin.

The WMU pipeline into the NFL remains one of the MAC's most impressive, with alumni scattered from Green Bay to Miami to Los Angeles. But this week belonged to Jaylon Moore's story — a veteran at a crossroads, trying to hold his ground against a franchise that's already looking past him.