Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Quotes
January 1, 2025
OPENING STATEMENT: “Alright, Happy New Year. You guys (the media) are the dedicated right here. Alright, so as far as the injuries go, Chris Jones, (Isiah) Pacheco and Jawaan Taylor. Jawaan just has some issues with his knee, sort of, so we’ll hold him from practice today. Mecole (Hardman) will practice. He is activated into the 21-day window. (We) look forward to the challenge of playing the Broncos. Carson (Wentz) is going to visit with you here in a little bit, but he’ll end up being the starting quarterback and then we’ll kind of work things from there on who goes and who doesn’t go. I mean, you remember last year how the offensive line played and rotated in and out so those type of things could potentially take place in this one, depending on the positions. Anyways, the Denver Broncos are a heck of a football team, bidding for obviously a playoff spot. (Broncos Head Coach) Sean’s (Payton) done a real nice job up there with that team and – as his coordinators have. We’ve got to have a good week of practice here, starting today and then again moving forward throughout the week. Anyways, with that, the time’s yours.”
Q: Any difficult decisions at all on what to do in this situation?
REID: “I haven’t finalized that part of it, but it wasn’t a hard decision, no.”
Q: What went into the decision to not play the starters?
REID: “I’ve been through that before, so I’m not too worried about all that. It gives the other guys an opportunity here to grow and you know, you can use everybody.”
Q: How do you account for the last six games without turning the ball over on offense? What’s the difference?
REID: “Nags (Offensive Coordinator Matt Nagy) has made a big point of emphasis on that and making sure that the guys are keeping the ball high and tight (and) eliminating tipped balls, which can be a problem. Pat’s (Patrick Mahomes) done a great job with the football, so that’s helped us in that area. We can still get better at it as we go here, so we’ve got to keep rolling with that and keep making that a point of emphasis as we go forward.”
Q: On the difference the last few games, with no turnovers on offense.
REID: “I mean, not as much scheme wise, no. Just, I think the guys are just doing a better job with it and coaches are working at – you always see (Assistant Running Backs Coach) Porter (Ellett) out there with that strap, pulling on everybody and everybody kind of gets a shot at it, all the skill guys – so, that’s helped.”
Q: What makes you excited about seeing Carson Wentz in the offense this week?
REID: “First of all, I have a lot of respect for him. I think he’s a good football player. I think he has a good feel for this offense, whether he’s developed it or had some of this stuff prior to coming here, he’s got a good feel. He deserves an opportunity to get in there and play, and at the same time it gives Pat (Patrick Mahomes) time to work on certain things that he’ll do during the practices.”
Q: On seeing Carson Steele develop throughout the season.
REID: “Yeah, Carson (Steele) has done a nice job. We’ve asked him to play fullback and special teams, two of the things that he didn’t do, and he’s really developed into a pretty good fullback in there. At the same time, he can carry the ball, we know that. He started the season off as our running back and toting the load there in a couple of those games, so, that’s a plus to have.”
Q: What kind of conversations are had or consideration given to players who have contract incentives or career milestones going into this game?
REID: “Yeah, sure, I look at those, yeah. Like we did with Chris (Jones) last year. Sure, we look at all of that, for sure. We want the guys to be able to reach them if it is reachable.”
Q: How do you and your coaching staff operate over the next few weeks? What do you hope to accomplish as a coaching staff?
REID: “Well, the primary thing is to make sure we stay sharp at all areas through this game and for the upcoming weeks that we have to prep for that first game there. We want to stay sharp mentally and physically and then that’s our responsibility to do that. How we manage the time, I make sure I do that practice-wise and then the guys go out – players and coaches – and work on that. Keeping themselves in the right timing the right way.”
Q: Does the speed of practice change at all?
REID: “Yeah, it does a little bit, yes. You’d see that more next weekend.”
Q: Will D.J. Humphries play left tackle this Sunday?
REID: “Yeah there’s a chance. He’s (D.J. Humphries) feeling – I just want to see how he does here in practice. Give me one more go around with him here and see how he’s holding up. He says he feels good, and we’ll just see how the practices go.”
Q: Do you expect Mecole Hardman to play on Sunday?
REID: “I wouldn’t count on Mecole (Hardman) playing.”
Q: With Chris Jones’ calf, would he go if this was a game that you needed to win?
REID: “Yeah, he’s (Chris Jones) recovering from that. I wouldn’t say either way on that whether he’d play or not play. I would tell you that he’s recovering from the calf injury, so that’s the primary thing. The guys that are banged up, we’re trying to get (them) back where they feel ok.”
Q: Are there any coaches on staff you feel warrant interviews for head coaching jobs?
REID: “You could take all of the coordinators there and put them right in that mix for sure. Both of them are – offensive and defensive guys are phenomenal, (Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Dave) Toub does a great job. I know the two names that normally come up are the offensive and defensive coordinators. Both of those two are – warrant that, yeah, for sure.”
Q: Will you treat this game like a preseason game where you play certain players only for a limited amount of time?
REID: “Yeah, well you get two elevations, that’s all, so it’s hard to do all of that. I mean, the rosters are small now where you have to play guys and that’s how it goes. I mean, if somebody wants to start messing with it then there’s not a whole lot of messing going on. I’m sure that’s for a reason, so guys play, that’s how it goes.”
Chiefs QB Carson Wentz Quotes
January 1, 2025
QB CARSON WENTZ
Q: What are your expectations for yourself on Sunday?
WENTZ: “(To) have fun. (To) have fun and obviously, I want to play well and have success out there and ultimately, more than anything, get a win. That’s the goal. Obviously, we know the circumstances, we know kind of where we’re at and the reason I’m playing and not Pat (Patrick Mahomes) and all the things, but I still go out there and expect to win. I’m going to prepare to go out there and win and have a good performance with this offense and yeah, we’re preparing for that.”
Q: In this new role, do you feel like you’ve been doing a good job at staying sharp?
WENTZ: “Yeah, I mean it’s obviously been different, but I’ve stayed locked in, stayed ready (and) prepared every week. Really, (I’ve) kind of had the same routine since I’ve been in the NFL. Taking some things from Pat (Patrick Mahomes) and kind of working with him, but at the same time, every week I’m staying locked in (and) ready to go. Just obviously not getting the reps but going against our defense with our scout offense definitely does help me stay sharp (and) helps all the guys stay sharp because our defense is no slouch over there either. We’ve stayed locked in, stayed sharp and it should be a fun one.”
Q: Earlier this week, Head Coach Andy Reid mentioned that you should be a starter in this league. Mindset-wise, where are you in terms of that?
WENTZ: “I mean, I take it day-by-day. I’m confident in myself, I’m confident in my abilities and what I’ve done in the past is in the past. You know, what good, bad and different, I’m still confident I can play and play at a high level, so I’m looking forward to hopefully doing that this weekend and having fun while I’m at it.”
Q: As a competitor, what is it going to mean to you to get back on the field and be out there in the live action?