Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Quotes
August 26, 2026
OPENING STATEMENT: “Alright, as far as any injuries go. The guys that won’t play most likely are (LB Jack) Cochrane, (CB) Chamarri (Conner), (DE) Ashton (Gillotte), (OL) C.J. Hanson, (WR) Jimmy Holiday, (QB Chris) Oladokun still in concussion protocol. I might as well address that, the young kid is going to go. (QB Garrett) Nuss (Nussmeier) is going to go, he’ll start the game. Those two (Nussmeier and QB Justin Fields) are going to split the game, it has nothing to do with Justin, this was all in advance, so don’t make anything out of that. (T Josh) Simmons is out with—he’s out with the back. Then, (DE) Tyreke Smith and then we’ll just see. The last couple of days, (RB) Ken Walker, his shoe has caused some swelling on his ankle there, so we’re just trying to get that down but he’s okay, he’s going to be fine. Other than that, everybody’s potentially available there. We’ll just see how it goes in the next couple of days. Again, we look forward to finishing up here and getting this third game under our belt, so we can get some experience in some spots, and at the same time, tune up with some of the ones as we go forward. But that’s where we’re at right now. With that, time’s yours.”
Q: You’ve had some time to look at QB Garrett Nussmeier these past few days, what have you learned about him?
REID: “Yeah, (QB Garrett Nussmeier) he’s done a nice job. Threw him right in the fire there with the first group, so I thought he handled it well. It wasn’t a big shock to him. He looked like he stepped in and took it on, and had good leadership and tempo, went out of the huddle, those things. So, it was positive. It’ll pay off for him down the road, it was a good thing.”
Q: What’s your message to your younger players?
REID: “Keep improving, just keep improving every week, every practice, every week. They’re evaluated every day, and every play, every day, and we talk about them as a staff. And so, we just want to see continual progress going forward. And have that attitude, positive attitude doing it. Sometimes you get down on yourself, and then you go the other way. So, we don’t want that. That’s not where we’re at with it. How do you handle all that?”
Q: Where do you feel like T Josh Simmons is at right now?
REID: “Yeah, just getting (T Josh Simmons) his back checked out. I mean that’s the main thing. I mean there’s no good way—he’s just in there. He just has the back, so like any other injury, we have to see if that’s right or what’s wrong with it.”
Q: How is G Trey Smith getting back in the groove and getting back out there?
REID: “Yeah, now listen I didn’t talk to (G Trey Smith) him after this practice, but he did everything, and he’s looked good the last few days, and I think he feels good.”
Q: Is there any further update on DE Ashton Gillotte’s foot? What exactly will be the protocol moving forward with that?
REID: “(DE Ashton Gillotte) He’s off that little scooter, and he just has the boot on, and they’re just taking it from there. We’ll see how it times out for him.”
Q: On trading for OL Joshua Ezeudu.
REID: “Actually, (Offensive Line Coach) Andy Heck knows him because of his sons. One played with him, then one coached him. So, he’s a big kid that has got good feet, he’s smart. He can add either a starting position or depth, and he plays either guard or tackle. So, we’ll just see how he does when he gets here and gets in to assess him.”
Q: How did you evaluate and weigh the options with QB Patrick Mahomes and him not playing this preseason?
REID: “Well, listen, (QB Patrick Mahomes) he’s looked good during the practices and doing this stuff. This week, he was a scout team quarterback and pretty good scout team quarterback. But he’s looked—listen, he’s looking good. He looked strong, and obviously, his attitude’s right.”
Q: On which wide receivers he would like to see playing against the Seahawks.
REID: “Yeah, we’ll see how it goes. I’ll evaluate (WR Xavier Worthy) him in the next couple of days, but they’ve worked their tail off this week and taken a lot of reps, and that’s been good for them. So we’ll just see as we get closer to the game here, you know, where we’re at.”
Q: Just to clarify, will QB Chris Oladokun be out or will he be splitting time with QB Garrett Nussmeier? Or was Nussmeier going to split time with Oladokun, and now Nussmeier will play the entire game?
REID: “There’s a chance, yeah. I mean (QB) Justin (Fields), I told him, just keep it loose. If not, then I’m sure they all would love to play a full game, and he now has a chance, potentially.”
Q: On the offensive line.
REID: “I’ve seen improvement there, and we’ve been kind of moving guys around and fitting them in, especially at the tackle position, whether it’s (T Kahlil) Benson going to guard or back to right tackle and then to left tackle. So, those are valuable reps for him. He’ll be over at left tackle this week, and we’ll see how he does. But I like the way the young guys have progressed. I think (OL Mike) Caliendo, who’s been here, now he’s probably not considered a young guy anymore, but he’s had a good camp, so that’s a positive, too, in there.”
Q: Would you say you’re just still deciding the right tackle at this stage, and that you’ll make that decision down the line?
REID: “I think we feel comfortable with both guys. I think either one can go in. But they’re both doing a decent job.”
Chiefs Players Quotes
August 26, 2026
DB JADEN HICKS
Q: How much more comfortable do you feel at this point in your career and in the preseason?
HICKS: “Yeah, just getting comfortable with who I’m playing with, all the guys. Definitely going into year three, it’s much better.”
Q: What have these last couple of games done for you?
HICKS: “I’m just playing with confidence. That’s my biggest thing and trying to get the defense down, stuff like that, but definitely the confidence.”
Q: On Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s coaching in one-on-one sessions.