Getty New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu.
The Kansas City Chiefs preseason opener against the New Orleans Saints was an opportunity for a couple of the Saints players to reunite with their former teammates in Kansas City.
One of those players in New Orleans is safety Tyrann Mathieu, 31, who played for the Chiefs from 2019 to 2021.
After Mathieu’s contract ended with the Chiefs in 2022, linebacker Nick Bolton, who was Mathieu’s teammate in 2021, opted to change his jersey number to 32, which Mathieu wore during his tenure in Kansas City.
After the Chiefs-Saints preseason game, Mathieu and Bolton met on the field and exchanged jerseys. A picture shared by the Chiefs social media team revealed that Mathieu left a personalized message on his jersey for Bolton which reads, “Keep leading them boys. It was an honor to play next to you. Keep holding #32 down. More glory.”
All love over here ❤️
Khalen Saunders Enjoyed Seeing Former Teammates
Another Saints player that was on Kansas City’s Super Bowl LIV roster is defensive tackle Khalen Saunders. Saunders was drafted by the Chiefs in the third round of the 2019 draft and played with the team through the 2022 season before taking to free agency and joining New Orleans.
After the 26-24 win for the Saints, Saunders was asked about playing against his former teammates.
“It just really… I felt like I saw a lot of plays that I’m used to seeing. I was out there calling out some stuff and kind of cheating a little bit but not cheating because I know them,” Saunders said via the Saints official website. “But it was fun, getting to talk to those guys too before and after the game. Because, like I said in my introductory press conference here, I’m a big team guy. I’m going to treat them…treat those guys like my brothers.
“I still talk to those guys daily and so it was good to kind of reconnect with them and share sentiments and all of that stuff like that,” Saunders continued. “But they also know who I am and they know that I’m a team guy so they know I take the Saints seriously and it’s not like no, ‘man I wish I can be back.’ Like no, I love y’all to death but I’m a Saint. So that’s how it is now and it was a good experience and it was a good competition.”
Chiefs Lose to Saints in Preseason Opener
The Chiefs opened their preseason with a loss to the Saints via a game-winning field goal as time expired.
Among the offensive standouts for the Chiefs were backup quarterback Shane Buechele (11-15, 155 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception) and rookie receiver Nikko Remigio (4 receptions, 71 yards). Defensive standouts for Kansas City were linebacker Drue Tranquill (5 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss) rookie cornerback Kahlef Hailassie (4 tackles, 1 interception), and defensive back Chamarri Conner (2 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss, 1 pass defended).
Second-year wide receiver Justyn Ross suited up for his first football game in 21 months and performed well. He caught 2-of-5 targets for 29 yards and caught a 15-yard touchdown in the fourth quarterback.
#Chiefs QB Shane Buechele finds WR Justyn Ross for Ross’ first career preseason TD! PAT is good.
Saints – 17
Chiefs – 14
The Chiefs next preseason game is an away game against the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday, August 19. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Central time. Kansas City rounds out its preseason with a home game against the Cleveland Browns on Saturday, August 26. Kickoff for that game is at 12 p.m. Central time.