Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Quotes
August 5, 2026
OPENING STATEMENT: “Alright, as far as the injuries go, (WR) Cyrus (Allen) didn't practice today, but making improvement there. (LB Jeffrey) Bassa would be the new one. He had a groin strain. We'll just see where that goes. (CB Kristian) Fulton has a hip flexor strain. (DE Ashton) Gillotte is still making progress with the hamstring. (LB Drue) Tranquill just had low back spasms and so we backed off him there. And then (WR) Xavier (Worthy) is making progress with the shoulder. Other than that, I think that covers that part. Great to get out here and get to working. We had goal line short yardage yesterday. We had red zone today. Guys are working hard at the different situations, the field positions. And the main thing is they're challenging each other and getting better every day here. So, that's important. Anyway, time’s yours.”
Q: We saw DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah with the lump sum of first team work today. What kind of progress is he making?
REID: “Yeah, so with (DE Ashton) Gillotte down, (DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah) he's getting a few more reps in there, doing a nice job. You can tell that his explosion off the ball is better. He's working through just playing, but he's doing a nice job with it. Way different getting off of the ball. If there was one thing that jumps out at me, it's that.”
Q: On WR Rashee Rice getting more reps in practice today.
REID: “(WR Rashee Rice) He got a lot of good reps today, which is important. He's just got to ease him back in and just keep working, and we know he's a good football player. And you can see it actually got better as practice went on. So that was a good thing.”
Q: What are you seeing from TE Jake Briningstool so far?
REID: “(TE Jake Briningstool) He had the hamstring, so right away, even in the camp, minicamp. So, it's great that he's back-to-back in some practices here. And then you get a chance to see what he's all about. He's a good receiver. And you know what? He’s stuck his nose in there, and he's blocking and my hat goes off to him. He's just got to keep stacking them and that's his challenge right now.”
Q: What do you like about RB Emari Demercado? What have you seen from him in pass protection?
REID: “Yeah, so I like the pass protection. I like the way—when (RB Emari Demercado) he's not going to bounce anything or do that. He sees it and then he lowers it and he hits it in the run game, and I think that's important. Pass routes are pretty good. So, he's played. He's got experience. He's just pushing himself through this workload. I like what I'm seeing here the last couple days.”
Q: How has RB Emmett Johnson been coming along?
REID: “Yeah, same deal. Now, younger guy. So, (RB Emmett Johnson) he's learning as he goes here. He's pushing himself. You saw a couple of these where he's got to drop the pad level down. You go in high at this level and you're going to get rearranged and you don't want that to happen.”
Q: What have you learned about some of the young receivers, like WR Andrew Armstrong for example?
REID: “Yeah, I like what (WR Andrew) Armstrong's doing. Big kid. Strong. Looks like the quarterback trusts him, both of them (QB Patrick Mahomes and QB Justin Fields). Top two guys. They trust him on his route running. He's got good speed for a big kid and good transition. He's not stiff coming out of breaks and that's important. And (WR) Jimmy's (Holiday) the other one. Jimmy is the same thing. He's really shown the last few days here and that's important for him and his job.”
Q: On the left side of the offensive line with T Josh Simmons and OL Kingsley Suamataia.
REID: “Yeah, you can see them communicating. (OL) Kingsley (Suamataia) does a nice job of that, making sure (T) Josh (Simmons) gets all the calls and everything. The more they play together, the better it will be. They're both very gifted athletically. It's just a matter of the techniques, fundamentals, all that stuff and they work like crazy on it. (Offensive Line Coach Andy) Heck does a good job working on those guys.”
Q: Teams around the league have started having their quarterback practice with a GoPro camera on their helmet. Have you ever considered putting a GoPro on the helmet of the quarterback?
REID: “Yeah, I stand back there. I'm a versatile GoPro (laughing).”
Q: We've seen one-on-one. What does that show you? When you see your best player on offense versus your best player on defense?
REID: “I like the way they work. They know how to work without falling on the ground and doing that bit, but yet they're still coming and bringing it, which is important. They're willing to work. They work against each other, and they do it the right way. So, I appreciate that.”
Q: On T Josh Simmons, you remember back in camp talking about where his weight was. How's he doing weight-wise?
RED: “Yeah, so (T Josh Simmons) he put on weight in the offseason. He's been able to maintain it. I think it'll help him. Not that he couldn't do it at the other weight, but this gives him a little bit more lead in his pants. It pays off for you. Over time, it pays off for you during the season.”
Q: With LB Drue Tranquill being out today, it seems like LB Jack Cochrane was just a lot more active.
Did you learn anything about him?
REID: “(LB) Jack (Cochrane) knows everything. Jack knows all the positions. He knows everything. He's a good special teams player on top of that. You feel comfortable, as a coach, putting him in any of the spots, and he knows that part of it. You need a couple guys like that out there.”
Chiefs Player Quotes
August 5, 2026
T JOSH SIMMONS
Q: How did you get yourself ready this offseason?
SIMMONS: “Yeah, I mean I’m just trying to add off of last year. Obviously, I went against a lot of good D-Ends, and I have one year of familiarity with the playbook. So, it was really just kind of stacking up on that, that way I can come into training camp ready.”
Q: You’ve done one-on-one drills last year, is there anything you wanted to work on differently now having already experienced it one time?
SIMMONS: “I think just going back to the basics and kind of mastering that. I think you can never go wrong with that. So, every time we come out of training camp, we’re going against each other. I just try to literally home in on those basic techniques.”
Q: How does it feel to be back in pads?
SIMMONS: “Feels good. Like I said, that offseason, the OTAs was good. You got more familiarity with the playbook. You build more chemistry with (OL) Kingsley (Suamataia) and (C) Creed (Humphrey) and how they operate and things like that. So, coming back here, it was just like filling an answer for the test.”
RB EMARI DEMERCADO
Q: What made Kansas City a fit for you compared to other places?
DEMERCADO: “Just this storied franchise. I’m honored, and I’m blessed to be here. Who wouldn’t want to come play for (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid?”
Q: How much pride do you take in pass protection? How would you describe yourself?
DEMERCADO: “I take a lot of pride. I think that’s just where I found my niche in the league. So, to stay on top of that and be able to protect someone like (QB) Pat (Mahomes). That’s a big deal. So, I take a lot of pride in that.”
Q: On helping special teams.
DEMERCADO: “I just want to help the team win in any way. So, if that’s kickoff returns, punt returns, making tackles, returning balls, whatever I can do to help the team, I’m excited to do it.”
K HARRISON BUTKER
Q: On what the point of emphasis is for him at this year’s training camp.
BUTKER: “Good question. So, with kickers, really, it’s easy for us to just kick a bunch of footballs all the time you know, but in a game, what a kicker is asked to do is kind of be able to execute one kick every 15 maybe 20 minutes, right. You kick when the offense stalls their drive or after they score a touchdown obviously with the extra point, then the defense goes out there for a whole drive and then the offense goes back out there, then boom, you’ve got to go. So, I think I’ve been trying to gain confidence of waiting 15-20 minutes and then got to have a field goal that matters, kicking it with (LS) James, (Winchester), (P) Matt (Araiza) and then however well I do, that’s the end result. So, in the past, it’s easy for practice, you kick a bunch of balls right before the field goal period, you kick great, and then you are kind of done for the rest of the day. So, I’m trying to take advantage of these longer practices, treat it like a game, and do what I’m going to be asked to do in a game, which is just one kick every 20 minutes or so.”
Q: Do you feel good about your mechanics?
BUTKER: “I do. So, last year I wasn’t dropping down on to that plant foot knee, but I was having to think about it a lot especially during training camp and now I don’t have to focus on that so I’m hoping I can focus on things that matter more. You know, smooth swing thoughts, and I think that’s been helpful for me to keep it simple and just focus on good ball contact instead of just really focusing in on not dropping down to that knee. I can focus on something that probably matters more.”
Q: Are you stronger now than you were as a rookie?