Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Quotes
May 4, 2025
OPENING STATEMENT: “Alright, (it’s) great to be back here and (be) able to get onto the practice field with some of our young guys. They looked good yesterday; it’s a good group. I think (General Manager) Brett (Veach) and his gang have done a great job of bringing in some real good football players, whether they were drafted or free agents. It looks like a good crew. Just real quick with BJ Thompson, I think you saw where we waived him to (the) NFI designation there. He is making progress but just not quite there yet, but he’s made great strides. In this day and age, the way football is we had to do something there, and this is the route that we went. It doesn’t mean his career is over by any means, it’s just where we’re at today. Other than that, the time’s yours.”
Q: What’s the most important thing the draft picks have to do for you this week? What do they have to show you?
REID: “Literally that. There’s only maybe 16 – 15, 16 of them that – whether it’s the seven draft picks and 10 or so others that have been signed as free agents, college free agents. The rest of the guys are just invites to this camp as free agents, and that’s a challenge for them to catch our eye but they’re going about it the right way and it’s literally that. Are you going to make the catch? Are you going to make the throw? Are you going to make the coverage adjustment that you need to make on the backend? Defensive line, it’s all pass so do you have rush ability in that. Linebackers, same way – coverage and kind of an understanding (and) grasping the defensive part that we’re asking so anyways, all of that is part of it. That’s what we look at.”
Q: What’s your initial impression of Jalen Royals?
REID: “You can see his (Jalen Royals) talent for sure. He did a couple good things yesterday, (we’ll) just see how he does today. We load them up again today and they actually have a walkthrough, so it’s very much like training camp. They have a walkthrough and then they have the practice in the afternoon. Sometimes the second day can be a nice challenge for them with the overload part of it.”
Q: What’s your first impression of Josh Simmons? Is he where you expected him to be physically?
REID: “Josh (Simmons) is doing mostly the individual work. We try to keep him out of the team stuff if we’re going against a defense, so just taking it slow here. We’re just kind of getting a feel of where he’s at with this. He had kind of a heavy traffic travel schedule during the 30-visit thing so just make sure that thing’s strong. He looks like he’s got some talent there, Matt (Derrick) doggonit. That’s a good thing, right? For what we can do. That’s a plus.”
Q: How will you evaluate Josh Simmons’ preparation to play?
REID: “(It) looks like he’s (Josh Simmons) moving around good. He’s right on that – where he just needs a little bit more time but he’s moving around well. I was surprised on how well he was doing out there – moving. He looks like he’s comfortable with it.”
Q: Have you had anybody with Brashard Smith’s skillset?
REID: “I probably haven’t seen enough of him there. He (Brashard Smith) looks like – some of the backs have that low center of gravity that can kind of move and – lower or they can drop their weight a little bit. He looks like he has that. Now, nobody’s hit him either, so it’ll be a little different story there but it looks like he has good hands.”
Q: Does Brashard Smith remind you of Jerick McKinnon a little bit?
REID: “Little different run style than Jerick (McKinnon). Yeah, a little different run style. Jerick was a little more upright. I’m not sure who I’d compare it to, but it looks like he (Brashard Smith) has talent, he can catch the football.”
Q: How do you assess the three drafted linemen in a noncontact practice?
REID: “You get a little idea on pass rush for the two defensive guys. Again, we’re keeping the other kid out of the – (Josh) Simmons out of the contact part of it – or out of the team stuff. The defensive lineman look like they have high motors, and they have good quickness. It looks like good lower body (and) core strength which is very important for getting banged around in there.”
Q: How did you end up with 64 at BYU? What did it mean to you?
REID: “That was one of the numbers that was available. (PFHOF and Packers G) Jerry Kramer wore it, so I snuck it. I had read “Instant Replay” by that time. I was always a fan of his.”
Q: Did you retire 64? Are the kids still wearing it?
REID: “No, they’re still wearing it.”
Chiefs Player Quotes
May 4, 2025
RB BRASHARD SMITH
Q: What has this experience been like so far? Is rookie minicamp what you expected?
SMITH: “Yes sir, for sure. I expected to come in and just learn and pick up from all the coaches and stuff so for sure, yes sir.”
Q: How was the rookie dinner? What was it like?
SMITH: “It was great, I really had a fun time. Just getting to meet all of the greats that came here and just learning the history behind Kansas City, it was big-time for me. I learned a lot for sure.”
Q: When you went into college did you think you were going to play wide receiver? Did you want to play as a running back?
SMITH: “Going into college, I got recruited for a receiver – slot receiver. As I – going into college and being in different systems and being in different offenses, I was moving around a lot, so I played running back and slot receiver a lot.”
LB JEFFREY BASSA
Q: What are your initial impressions of Steve Spagnuolo and what he intends to accomplish with you?
BASSA: “So far, I mean everybody knows that (Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) Coach Spags’ defense is really complex, but coming into rookie minicamp you obviously want to get a head start on that, right? I feel the opportunity to come out here for rookie minicamp, learn the defense, kind of go through the first couple installs has been really good for me. Overall, I feel like I’m catching on pretty well. Honestly, right now I feel like I’m at a good stage where I can keep going back and looking at the notes and looking at the film and say, ‘Okay, I was supposed to do this instead of this,’ right? So, just catching on slowly day-by-day.”
Q: How nice is it to land with a franchise like this?
BASSA: “It’s truly a blessing. Walking past Josh (Simmons), obviously he went to the school that knocked us out of the playoffs, but (laughs) I’m sure we’ll have jokes about that down the road and stuff. Overall, it’s truly a blessing to come to such a great franchise and a great organization. Like I’ll keep saying, I’m so blessed to be here and just to have the opportunity of walking into the building every day and just seeing the Kansas City Chiefs logo everywhere and meeting the coaches that you watch on TV and you’re like, ‘Wow, I really love the opportunity and chance to play there.’ To be here and now (and) to be living in the moment, it’s truly amazing.”
Q: How do your communication abilities drive your game?