Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Quotes
August 18, 2025
HEAD COACH ANDY REID
OPENING STATEMENT: “Alright, as far as the injuries go, Felix (Anudike-Uzomah) strained that hamstring, most likely is going to go on IR here, this evening or this afternoon. Jack Cochrane has a knee bone bruise; he won’t practice today. (Ethan) Driskell won’t practice. Mike Edwards with a hamstring strain, he won’t practice. Nazeeh Johnson had a shoulder strain, he won’t go today. Omarr (Norman-Lott) had the ankle sprain and kind of re-hurt it or something of that sort, and then Jalen Royals has knee tendonitis, and he will be out. Other than that, everyone is going, and we’ll – this will be very similar to an in-season Wednesday practice, now that we’re back here (it) gives you guys a dry run to see how the media schedule goes for an in-season game and also (how) practice goes. Anyways, with that time is yours.”
Q: Do you anticipate the starters playing more in the upcoming preseason game against the Bears?
REID: “Yeah, they’ll start it off for sure and then we will see how it goes from there.”
Q: Have you seen enough from the young guys in the left tackle position?
REID: “I like how physical they are (Josh Simmons and Kingsley Suamataia) playing for sure. The more reps they get, I mean, the better, I think for them. But I think they are doing a good job over there.”
Q: What went into playing the starters from game two and three?
REID: “I wanted to give the best look we could to these guys. They’re trying to make the team. We’ve got some guys that are right on the border of making it. Give them a shot. I wanted to see the quarterback work the one offensive line.”
Q: If Felix Anudike-Uzomah is placed on IR how disappointing is that for him entering his third year?
REID: “Yeah, that’s a tough thing. He’s worked hard so we’ll see where it goes. I can’t tell you how long it’s going to be, but any time for that (injury), is disappointing for him, I know, because he works so stinking hard.”
Q: What is your evaluation of Josh Simmons after two preseason games and preparation for the regular season?
REID: “Yeah, no, listen, I like the way he’s (Josh Simmons) approached it – Herbie (Teope). He’s worked at it. He hasn’t missed a beat here as far as missing a day or any of that. He’s been available and he’s working with (Offensive Line) Coach (Andy) Heck and getting better every day. I like where we’re at right now but we gotta keep going. He’s a young guy, but he’s been working his tail off.”
Q: On Kingsley Suamataia after the past two preseason games.
REID: “I’ll tell you the same thing. Kingsley (Suamataia) has moved into a new position, and those two (Kingsley Suamataia and Josh Simmons), they got a little something going there that you can see it more in the run game right now, where they’re really working well together and then the pass game, both of them are kind of feeling that part out. They’re doing a good job with it. We’ve been able to get some games in there against them. I thought they handled that well last week – some of the blitz stuff. Kingsley had a couple trip ups, where the back stepped up and he tripped over somebody’s foot there, (the) back’s foot. Other than that, he did a pretty good job there.”
Q: Are the challenges on the offensive line going to be more technical or is it the communication piece?
REID: “Yeah, they’ve (Josh Simmons and Kingsley Suamataia) been working double time on that, so we’ll see how it goes with the game part of it and that. But then, talking through everything. They’re going to see some new things from both of them and how they handle that we’ll see. We’ll see how it goes when we get there with it.”
Q: When you get into a season with a rookie left tackle, with a guy who has never played in the NFL, was this just part of the process you knew was going to be part of the process?
REID: “Yeah, so you’re in this thing long enough, you’re going to have changeover, and you’re going to have you’re going to have young guys that have got to step up and they got to play. So, he’s (Josh Simmons) a talented kid and wants to be good and is working at it – both (Josh Simmons and Kingsley Suamataia) of them are that way. Both of them are high draft picks, so you got to get in and you got to go, and you’re going to live with a few things, but you expect to see constant growth as you go, and similar to what we did with the secondary a few years ago. A lot of young guys and early it wasn’t quite as pretty as it was at the end.”
Q: What are you seeing from Kingsley Suamataia in meetings and attitude wise for this challenge at the left tackle position?
REID: “Kingsley (Suamataia) is a sharp guy, he’s quiet, but a sharp guy. He’s welcomed in this left tackle (position) and they’re trying to work that thing together and at the same time, him doing his job, moving from tackle to guard, but I like the way he handles himself in meetings. He’s grown up in that area, just attention to detail, all those things. I think it was good for him last year to get in there and play a little bit and so we’ll see how it goes here.”
Q: Have you heard from the league on Rashee Rice’s suspension? How do you prepare for this unknown information?
REID: “Well we know, we’ve heard about the hearing part of it, other than that, they’ve got to work all that out. I don’t know the details of it. I don’t think anyone does right at this minute. We’ll see where it all goes. We just, when we hear, we’ll do what we have to do.”
Q: What would you like to see from Hollywood Brown this week? Will he be able to play in this final preseason game?
REID: “Hollywood (Brown) did a little work yesterday, which is good. He’ll get a little bit more today. And then we’ll just see. We’ll see how he progresses through this thing. But he wants – it’s not a matter of wanting to be out there, he wants to do it, its just taking it slow because we don’t want any setbacks with this thing (injury) going forward here.”
Chiefs Player Quotes
August 18, 2025
P MATT ARAZIA
Q: What did you do during the offseason to improve your hangtime and pooch punts?
ARAZIA: “Both of them were understanding different contact points, trying different things, finding what works, finding what adjustments I can make. Kind of tinkering if that makes sense.”
Q: How did you feel about having an additional punter and how did that challenge you?
ARAZIA: “Yeah it was good. Competition always pushes me, that’s how I’ve always been; and now it’s (been) three times that I’ve had competition in the NFL and all three have gone my way, I do think that it pushes me and elevates me.”
Q: Is calling for the different holds similar to calling for different pitches? Like do you have to hold number one, hold number two, etc.?
ARAZIA: “Kind of yeah. We have a little language going and yeah, it’s good. It’s been good to, obviously my first year, get that experience down and now (having) a ton of confidence in it. Holding is definitely something I take pride in. Coming out, coming from the draft it was something that, you know, was a big downside because I never did it in college. So, it was a big question mark, people thought I couldn’t do it. It’s definitely something I take pride in and work at a lot.”
T JOSH SIMMONS
Q: How do you feel after your first two preseason games, and does the NFL feel different now than what you were thinking a couple of weeks ago?
SIMMONS: “Yeah, for sure. It’s a great piece that you can take to practice every week and kind of build off of. I think it’s great for a rookie because you don’t know what the speed of the NFL is, like the preseason is still different from Week 1. So, if I could just take the little baby nuggets that I’m getting in the preseason and work on it for Week 1, we’ll be good.”
Q: Are there any specific things you want to work on and improve going forward?
SIMMONS: “Absolutely, I think just really right now, (with) me being as fresh as I am in here, I’m just working on everything. No matter if it’s like, something (like) athleticism, hand striking, (I) just work on everything.”
Q: How important is communication between the offensive line and Patrick Mahomes?
SIMMONS: “I’m doing more of my communication usually with Kingsley (Suamataia) or Creed (Humphrey) and stuff like that, but usually it’s vital. It’s like you need that. Without that, you won’t win any games or move any d-lineman if you can’t communicate cause then you’re not going in the right direction.”
CB JAYLEN WATSON
Q: On what it was like playing through all the injuries last season.
WATSON: “It’s pretty challenging. Like I said last time, (I’m) just trying to get out there and fight for my teammates. (We) had one shot to make history, came (up) short but I wouldn’t change it.”
Q: What differences have you noticed from WR Xavier Worthy going from year one to year two?
WATSON: “He’s super twitchy, on top of his speed, which is hard to guard. His intermediate and short routes have grown a lot. That’s big.”
Q: On what the additions of Nohl Williams and Kristian Fulton bring to the defensive back room.