Quarterback coach Matt Nagy watches as Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes throws during NFL football training camp in St. Joseph, Missouri.
The Kansas City Chiefs had their last training camp practice Thursday morning, before they head to Soldier Field for their first preseason game against the Chicago Bears on Saturday.
The excitement of getting back onto the field against an opponent, for the first time since Jan., has players and coaches on the edge of their seats. The pre-season is a great time for rookies, and second string players, to showcase their skill sets before a final 53-man roster is officially put together.
On Thursday, head coach Andy Reid mentioned all four quarterbacks, including QB Patrick Mahomes, will get the full first quarter of repetitions on offense against the Bears, while skill players will filter based on who’s under center.
“There’s a balance there of letting the 1’s get a little bit of work, and the guys are going to play in the game and still have the competition at certain positions,” Reid said. “Then most of all, get the young guys a look.”
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes will have his starting spot solidified come Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals. Last season, Mahomes was fourth in the league in passing yards and touchdowns, and had the fifth best QBR.
Watching the preseason game, fans might be a tad nervous when he drops back. In Mahome’s mind, he knows the importance of playing, even for just a preseason quarter.
“Once you get hit one time, you kind of see what it is like to get hit again as a quarterback. I feel like after that, you’re good to go,” Mahomes said. “It’ll be good to get in there with the new group of receivers that we have, all the running backs and kind of show how we do it in the game.”
On the defensive side, safety Justin Reid will be looked upon as a leader after the departure of 10-year veteran Tyrann Mathieu. Last season, the Houston Texan had 41 solo tackles and two interceptions.
Although Justin Reid is new to the team, he’ll be looked upon to step up and take a leadership role. While the team won’t dive too deep into the playbook, Reid is ready to go out and hit.
“Obviously in preseason we’re not going to be exposing our whole deck of cards,” Justin Reid said. “But guys are excited to play and I’m excited to be able to line up against somebody wearing a different color jersey than I am for once.”
With the Chiefs drafting seven defensive players in this year’s draft, there’s a lot of potential, but not a lot of room for error. While the rookies have looked presentable in practice, the preseason is where we’ll see who can handle the pressure.
“Things are going to unfold themselves. As we start getting into the preseason games, we start having some live contact and start seeing how guys perform under pressure,” Justin Reid said. “But up to this point, they’ve been doing excellent.
Andy Reid made it clear to every active person on the roster that they would get a chance to play on Saturday. While the overall goal is to finalize the depth chart, each individual sees a different advantage.
“I think it’s good to kind of get the juices going, get yourself out there and even if it’s a limited amount of plays,” Andy Reid said. “Prepare yourself, prepare yourself mentally to go play.”
“Just getting in rhythm,” Mahomes said. “It’s getting in the game and seeing when the clock’s running and everything, the game kind of speeds up.”
“It’s barebones football, we know what you’re going to do, you know what we’re going to do,” Justin Reid said. “Let’s see what your true skill set is before we get into the game plan.
The Chiefs’ first preseason game will kick off at noon on Saturday. With the first wave of roster cuts from 90 to 85 players coming on Tuesday, Aug. 16, everyone will have to step up their game.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.