HEAD COACH ANDY REID
OPENING STATEMENT: “Welcome back, we’re glad to be getting Phase One underway, we’re going to do it very similar to how we’ve done it the last few years…which several of them are down with Patrick (Mahomes) in Texas. It gives the guys a little more time away from here, but at the same time getting some of their offseason evaluation work done and the opportunity to move forward into this next season. As far as Rashee Rice goes, his situation, I’m leaving that like we’ve done for most of these, just for the law enforcement part of it to take place, then we will go from there with that. I have had an opportunity to talk to Rashee (Rice) and I’m obviously not going to get into that. That part has been gone through. Anyways, really with that, time’s yours here.”
Q: Besides (Former Outside Linebackers coach) Ken Flajole retiring, are there any other changes to your coaching staff?
REID: “That’s a good point. (Former Outside Linebackers coach) Ken Flajole did retire. We were able to move (Outside Linebackers Coach) Rod Wilson into that position, (Defensive Quality Control Coach) Alex Whittingham likewise will have a little bit of a bigger role from his position and we hired Louie Addazio at (the) Quality Control position on defense. Louie has a bunch of experience coaching. He also has been an offensive coach, a line coach and at the major college level and he’ll give us some good productive information for the defense going forward so that we’re able to add good quality to the mix there.”
Q: What is Rashee Rice’s status during the offseason program?
REID: “There’s no real participation other than probably Zoom so he’ll (Rashee Rice) participate in that but other than that we don’t have anything going on here that he would be involved with. To answer your question, he’s participating in Zoom. Just a reminder on this, it’s voluntary as we go forward, that’s another part of this.”
Q: Do you anticipate him being there on-site when the next phase takes place?
REID: “We’re just going to take it day by day here as we go.”
Q: What did you like about Irv Smith and Hollywood Brown and what role do you think they’ll have on the team?
REID: “Hollywood Brown is a good speed receiver, he can play inside or outside and I stay away from saying a deep threat although he can do that, he can play within the offense and do all of the different routes that we asked. He’s a nice addition and he has some experience and production. Irv (Smith) is a tight end and kind of does everything pretty good. He’s a good solid football player, he’s a good receiver, good after the catch, good blocker, not necessarily the biggest guy but really plays a good physical game and I kind of like what he’s shown in the past. I think it’s important for both of these guys that they’re able to keep themselves healthy and rolling and that’ll be a part of it as we go forward here.”
Q: You’ve stated that this stage is more beneficial for the offense. What does the defense get out of Phase One of the offseason program?
REID: “On the being more productive on the offense – because they can actually go out and throw the ball around and do that part of it. Defensively, it’s hard to set up an offense and have an offense do whatever they do against you. I think this Phase One favors the offense in a way but at the same time, we go through this whole scheme evaluation in the offseason offensively, defensively and special teams and that’s where you benefit with being able to just do that on Zoom or likewise in person. On Zoom, you can get everything done that you need to do there with the video and/or new things that you may want to slip in there.”
Q: What was your message to Kadarius Toney in your exit interview and what will you be looking for from him during the season?
REID: “Kadarius (Toney) is arguably one of the most talented guys we have on the team. It’s just a matter of staying healthy and being able to stay on the field. You always hear about the reliability, accountability, all of those things that go into it so I’m expecting him to come back ripping and ready to go. It’s great that’s he’s down there working with Pat (Mahomes) and putting the work in so that’s a positive. Listen, we like Kadarius it’s just a matter of having him on the field.”
Q: What benefits have you seen from the offseason training that Patrick holds down in Texas?
REID: “A couple things, coming off of a 21 game season, it’s a short offseason as you guys know. It gives the guys an opportunity to stay away from here (and) maybe a little bit more relaxed atmosphere but at the same time get a ton of work done. Also, there’s a little comradery that goes with it which is important on the offensive side that the guys work and play together and kind of are on the same side. It gives Pat (Mahomes) an opportunity along with the quarterbacks to be able to kind of talk to the guys about what they see and at a little bit slowed down pace. It’s been effective for us, the guys have come back in great shape and come back knowing what their responsibilities are. At the same time, they’re getting that influx of new and our scheme evaluation from last year thrown at them by the coaches.”
Q: Can you explain the process on whether or not Rashee Rice will be able to participate in the next phase of offseason training?
REID: “We’ll just see how it goes, I want to keep gathering any information from the law enforcement people and we’ll just see where everything goes from there. Let the process take place.”
Q: On Louis Rees-Zammit transitioning to football.
REID: “He (Louis Rees-Zammit) was introduced to this when he was young because his dad played six years in the European League (English Football League) and so he’s somewhat familiar with the sport. He sure has had a lot of success with rugby and there are some similarities there, it’s a contact sport, he’s had to catch the ball and do those things and run with the ball. We’ll start him off at the running back position, get him to feel comfortable with that going forward here. He’s had an opportunity to also go down there to Dallas and work with Pat (Mahomes) and so again, he’ll get used to some of these calls and through our Zooms, the plays and then we’ll just see where it goes from there. (Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator) Dave (Toub) will have an opportunity to have him on special teams and see where that goes. That’s not an easy transition but he seems to be wired…. he’s been playing competitive rugby professionally since he was 17 years old. He’s sitting there at 23 years old, he’s had a pretty good career with that and kind of understands the professional game and the mindset of playing at a professional level.”
Q: Do you see Louis Rees-Zammit being a return specialist?
REID: “Potentially. We just have to see how it goes here. You know how (Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator) Dave (Toub) puts them all out there, they’re all out there working on returns before and during practice. We’ll just see what his feel is and where that goes.”
Q: Do you think there’s too much emphasis on first-round draft picks?
REID: “I’m not sure that I’ve seen as many mock drafts going on as there are right now. It’s an amazing amount of mock drafts out there. I got to give the guys credit, they’re all a little different, some guys are on to their third first-round mock draft doing that. (General Manager) Brett’s (Veach) had this whole thing up and does a nice job of making sure he’s got all the rounds covered. There is a tremendous amount of input that goes into this first-round pick. However, there’s like a 50% success rate over a period for these first-round picks, it’s a bit crazy for all the time that’s spent doing them. You’ve got to make sure you cover the other parts of the draft and you’re right, all the way to the point where your college free agents almost become your second highest percentage that make it on these teams over a five-year span so you’ve really got to stay intact with the whole board. How you layer the board is so important and stack it ends up being so important and that order can be – I mean you’re one guy off, that can be your Pro Bowl player just by one guy. Brett spends so much time with the scouts and going in there and bashing it out. I call it the ‘Lock Down,’ he locks them in there for two-week periods and they just beat it up in there and make sure that board is layered there, it’s a tribute to his dedication on that thing.”
Q: Due to the situation with Rashee Rice does your need at the wide receiver position increase? Are you looking for a veteran left tackle too?
REID: “Those are two positions that we are looking at, but I mean (General Manager) Brett (Veach) is looking at all of them. You’re sitting at pick 32 so it’s tough to tell you what’s going to take place there. It’s a great thing on one hand to be 32nd because you’ve done ok on the season before but that’s a long wait and you better really stay true to the board, what’s there and take the best player you possibly can at that spot. I’d tell you those two positions he’s looking at but he’s also going through everything so we’ve got spots and depth that we can use really everywhere and we’ll just see with the whole Rashee (Rice) thing how that goes. When it’s all said and done, we should have players in there ready to go.”
Q: Are you finding more value as we are approaching the 2024 Draft with what you have done in free agency? Are you finding more value in this upcoming draft than some of the free agents still available?
REID: “We feel comfortable with what we’ve done there with the free agency piece. (General Manager) Brett’s (Veach) always keeping his eyes open on that. (He) does a great job in that area. I would tell you this part, the ability that we’ve had to bring guys back here (and) the quality of the guys that we brought back here I think is a real tribute to Chris Shea in his new position now and his guys and then (General Manager) Brett (Veach) for going out and getting them. We always thank (Chairman & CEO) Clark Hunt for this because it comes out of his wallet and he’s been – like I always mention, he gives us an opportunity to win in that area. So, Chris Jones, let’s not slight that one. That’s a pretty big one and (Mike) Danna is big in the same position there, (Derrick) Nnadi coming back. That strength up front, I think it all starts there and becomes very important for us as we go forward there.”
Q: On Rashee Rice:
REID: “Well, yeah, listen, as long as he’s learned from it, that’s the important part of it. We’ll take it from there and see what takes place. Right now, we’re just kind of gathering everything and trying to make sure we have all the bases covered.”
Chiefs Player Quotes
April 15, 2024
QB PATRICK MAHOMES
Q: Can you give a breakdown of how you run your offseason training down in Texas?
MAHOMES: “It’s kind of collaborative with the coaches and then with me and the players. In the morning, we get a workout in, just kind of get guys moving. There’s therapy there so guys can get whatever warmup they need to do if they don’t want to get an actual full workout and they (just) want to get some work in to get themselves ready to run routes. Then we get the routes in and right after that – it’s like two to three times a week depending on week and the plan with the coaches. Then we meet with the coaches at 12 o’ clock, so it’s pretty good, you kind of get everybody in and out before 2 o’ clock whenever the meetings end but it gets good work in.”
Q: Have you been throwing with Rashee this offseason?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, I’ve worked with Rashee (Rice) throughout the offseason just in general, so I’m sure we’ll continue that work as the legal process plays out.”
Q: What benefit have you seen from this offseason camp that you have been doing the past couple years?
MAHOMES: “I wouldn’t say that it’s too much different than being up at the facility, but at the same time just with the guys hearing it from me because you get the workouts in before the meetings, hearing how I explain things, how I explain the routes, what I’m thinking and then getting to go into the meeting room and hear the coaches and how they explain the stuff and how do we blend that together. I think it’s just that good one on one interaction with me. Sometimes, especially this time of the year, those lines get long with a lot of receivers, lot of tight ends, lot of running backs whatever it is. To be able to explain my thought process one on one, I think it gives guys a good intro into what the coaches are thinking and the coaches can really detail the details.”
Q: What has stood out about WR Hollywood Brown?
MAHOMES: “With Hollywood (Brown), I think you obviously see the speed, you see the speed instantly. What I’ve liked so far is how hard he works, he’s been at the workouts, been at the route running and he wants more. He wants to continue to push himself more and more, and I think he has a hell of a great role in this offense the way he’s able to run routes, the way he’s able to stretch the field. I think he’ll be even different than you’ve seen him before because I think we can utilize him in different ways (than) I think he’s been utilized in yet.”
Q: What did you think about seeing Messi play on Saturday?
MAHOMES: “As far as (Inter Miami CF Forward Lionel) Messi, I mean it’s awesome to see the guy at the top of the top in any league in the entire world, and I mean you saw the certain spots that he had where he wasn’t marked, or he wasn’t free where he got free. I mean he made stuff happen with the pass that he made, the division that had. Then the goal that he scored, it shows you what it is like when you have the top of the top playing in any profession.”
Q: What role do you see Hollywood Brown playing this season?
MAHOMES: “I think everybody has seen his speed and the way he’s able to track a football down the field which we’ll obviously use, that’s something that’s huge and we need to continue to get better and better at this offense. I think the route running is what I’ve been pleasantly surprised by. Just the way he’s able to get in and out of his cuts, he has a good feel for space and like I said he wants to learn more and more, so I think as he gets within our offense and learns how with the freedom you have and the route running and your ability to find space I think we can utilize that over the middle of the field. I know he’s done that in the past but I think we utilize it at an even higher load so I think it’ll be something that we can really emphasize in our offense.”
Q: How do your training sessions in Texas help you?
MAHOMES: “I think what helps me the most is that I get to hear what they are thinking, and when they’re really going. I think sometimes when the coaches are around they want to do exactly what the coach says which is the right thinking but whenever I can hear what they’re thinking whenever they’re running their route it helps me know where they’re going to be at and what their timing is going to be and that’s something that I try to do during the year but there’s kind of a lot of things that you’re worried about during the season or trying to do just how the coaches say. When I can hear them and we talk it through and we hear from the coaches, we can all be on the same page.”
Q: What do you enjoy most about starting anew each season and what do you find most difficult having a shorter offseason?
MAHOMES: “I think what I find most enjoyable is building those relationships with the guys. Every single team is different and just getting the guys down here and seeing them outside the building, trying to do different things, trying to get dinner or whatever it is, you get to meet the guy. I think that’s what brings a team closer together, so that’s something that I enjoy most about this part of the year. At the same time, you win the Super Bowl, and it’s awesome but it makes the offseason shorter so trying to make sure I get time to myself and my family, that’s something that is important to me and so I still intertwine that with keeping my body in the right shape so that I can go out there and try to get the three-peat.”
Q: Now that you guys have won your second-straight Super Bowl, how much do you discuss a three-peat?
MAHOMES: “It was something that was discussed more after we won the second one. Now that we’re kind of back and starting back from the beginning, that’s how you have to start, you have to start from the beginning, you have to go back to your fundamentals. I’ll be going over fronts and stuff today, stuff that might get a little tedious and stuff that I need to know. The coaches will get a laugh out of it because they know that it kind of irritates me sometimes. That’s how it is, you have to go back to the beginning, go back to your elementary school and learn from the beginning and I think that’s something that has kind of gotten us to where we’re at is that you can’t be satisfied at where we’re at, you have to learn and pick up one little different thing that you didn’t know the year before. That’s something that I will continue to work on throughout this offseason and prepare myself and then once we get to the season, we’ll try to make that run at it but it’s going to take a day-in, day-out type of mentality.”
Q: Have you shared your thoughts on this year’s draft picks with General Manager Brett Veach yet?
MAHOMES: “I’ve looked at some of the stuff. It’s cool that (General Manager Brett) Veach and (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid kind of let me in on all of the conversations that they have about players and I like that stuff. I like watching film and watching other guys from college and stuff like that. At the end of the day, we have the greatest of the greatest as far as GMs and head coach and the staffs that they build so I know they’re going to get great players in here and I’ll give my input but I trust that they’re going to do the work to get the great players in. You’ve seen our team, it seems like we get younger and younger every single year and that comes from drafting.”
Q: On running a play in the Super Bowl that the team hasn’t run since training camp.
MAHOMES: “It was really cool. That was something that we had worked on in training camp, we talked about it in years in the past about some of the blitz looks that the teams have shown us of getting to that check. We worked on it in training camp and of course all year long we just never got the look that we wanted. Then you get to the Super Bowl, a third down, a huge moment in the game and of course you get the exact look you’re thinking about. We probably ran it in practice maybe once every week or once every other week to kind of prepare ourselves. It speaks to the guys, I mean not only me of getting to the check but the guys, the offensive line knowing how to block and leave the right guy free, Jerick McKinnon being able to bluff the guy where we had the cross protection most of the game, he bluffs a guy and gets loose, then the receivers making the block out in space. You never know, it’s one of those plays that anybody can be in, it’s kind of a check at the line of scrimmage and so everybody was ready for the moment. That comes with, like I said, the tedious fundamentals from day one. We do this stuff to prepare ourselves for the Super Bowl but you have to do it on a day-in process.”
Q: What stood out about the other new guys who have been working out in Texas with you?
MAHOMES: “I think what stood out is how hard the guys want to work. I think that’s always great; I say it and people take it for granted but you have to have guys that want it. I mean this is offseason, this time you can be anywhere in the world, spending it on vacation. These guys came in – I’m in my hometown, I’m in my house so it’s easy for me to go workout and throw but these guys are in hotels or AirBnBs and they’re down here getting work in and they want to be great and that’s awesome. Guys like Nikko (Remigio), Anthony Miller and Louis (Rees-Zammit), they’ve all done a great job of getting in here and learning from the guys in front of them, guys that have been here. I always enjoy guys like Skyy (Moore) and Kadarius (Toney), guys that are teaching too at the same time. I think it’s a healthy competition, that’s what you want on any team, and I think we have a great team for it. I’m excited to see these guys continue to evolve in this offense and get them on the field.”
LB NICK BOLTON
Q: What do you think the linebacker room will look like with the changes that have been made?
BOLTON: “I think it’s going to be a lot different. We’re definitely going to miss (Saints LB) Willie (Gay), his energy that he brought to the locker room, especially to the LB room on a day-to-day basis. Drue (Tranquill) played phenomenal for us. I think he adds a little bit (of a) different flavor to our defense. He’s a smart guy, intelligent, finds the ball (and) on all intents where you need to be great in this league, he has it, so I’m going for him and I’m excited for the projections we have in the linebacker room. We have Leo (Chenal) as well, got a lot of young guys in there and we’re just staying in our roles, trying to get one percent better every single day and we’ll see where that takes us.”
Q: You’re eligible for an extension soon, have there been any discussions about that and would you be interested in staying?
BOLTON: “I’ve been in the state of Missouri going on seven years now, so it definitely feels like home. Fans, the community, open arms since I got here as an 18-year-old. Staying here would be a blessing, would be a dream come true if we could get that done in the foreseeable future, but I’m just trying to put my best foot forward and have our defense pick up where we left off last year and not regress. Just trying to get better than we were last year and it starts in two weeks from now.”
Q: How will you handle Phase One of the offseason program since it’s online and what has your offseason looked like?
BOLTON: “First off, I’m out in Arizona, I’m enjoying this heat a little bit. In terms of – I’m just managing my energy, just trying to make sure to stay ahead of stuff. I finished out the end of the season healthy, everything looked good going into the offseason. Now it’s just trying to get comfortable, get things as strong as they were (before), get compression on my hand, my wrist, getting everything even on both sides because I haven’t been lifting on my left hand for a little bit. Just working on those things, (Assistant Athletic Trainer) Julie (Frymyer) has done a hell of a job with a plan for me while I’ve been away from Kansas City and when I get back there, I’m going to be back working with her again. Our training staff does a great job of getting us prepared, giving us a plan, giving us options of things that we can do to make this a little better so I’m just trying to take advantage of that.”