OPENING STATEMENT: “Alright fellas and ladies. We’ve got really the same people that were injured Clyde (Edwards-Helaire) was sick, so we kept him out. Nazeeh (Johnson) tore his ACL which you know, (Mike) Danna calf, (Jody) Fortson shoulder, Isaiah Moore he’s going to need surgery. And then KT (Kadarius Toney) is making progress. That’s really it, nothing happened today. Good work today it’s the longest practice, so today was a two-hour and 25-minute practice, guys pounded through it they did a good job of competing and finishing strong. Back and forth which is good, offense and defense. Special teams got good work in today. With that, time’s yours.”
Q: You put Isaiah Moore and Nazeeh Johnson on IR, is that right?
REID: “Yeah I believe – (General Manager Brett) Veach will have to.”
Q: On Deneric Prince.
REID: “Yeah, so we’re talking about Deneric Prince (the) running back. He’s working in there; he’s doing some good things. We want to try to get him as many reps as we can for protection purposes, so he just gets looks at everything as he goes. He’s doing a nice job, he’s working hard. Doing a nice job without 25 (Clyde Edwards-Helaire) here today and yesterday; he got some good work.”
Q: Is it too early to say Deneric Prince has earned some type of role on the team?
REID: “We’ll see. We’re two weeks away from the first preseason game and this is kind of the meat of the camp here. So, we go six, seven different two-hour and 25-minute practices, so these guys got to push through that.”
Q: Where is Jody Fortson at with his injury?
REID: “Jody (Fortson) his shoulder popped out, they were able to get it back in, now it’s just a matter of time to let that thing relax. He’s still working out and all but just favoring that shoulder obviously.”
Q: What’s the impact of Nazeeh Johnson not being there anymore?
REID: “Nazeeh (Johnson) was playing good football, we’ve got some other guys that can play there, but he’s a good special teams player and he’s a good corner. I mean he’s really developed over the year. It’s too bad that it happened, he’s got a good attitude about it. He’ll get back when he gets back.”
Q: There looks like there has been more chippiness out there than previous camps. Do you like that, or even notice it?
REID: “We got new guys – we have new guys, and everyone is competing. I’m okay with chippy, that’s alright. You got to have an edge and you got to maintain that, so it’s well and good when it’s practice one and two you got to keep challenging each other as it goes through.”
Q: Do you think Travis Kelce needed to say anything publicly yesterday?
REID: “He’s one of the team leaders. He felt it, and so he did that’s alright. I’m just glad that at that old he’s still got some juice in him (laughter).”
Q: Did you have a message for him after yesterday?
REID: “Naw he grabbed me and said it to me, so he gets it, he understands.”
Q: What has Justin Watson meant to this team in his time here?
REID: “Yeah, he’s 100 miles an hour every snap. He’s going to give him a legitimate look every snap. And then he’s very detailed. He’s obviously very smart. And then you add in the big target and the speed, you can work with that. He doesn’t get a lot of credit – especially with the young guys that are jumping in. They get most of the write ups, but this kid, he’s a talented player for us. Very important player for us.”
Q: How do you structure practice so the defense gets what they need out of the offensive plays?
REID: “(Chiefs Defensive Coordinator Steve) Spags (Spagnuolo) plays his coverages – works his coverages. We don’t game plan against that, that’s not what the offense does. They’re not game planning against the offense from a defensive standpoint. Just trying to get the base stuff in and one thing I’ll tell you about it is the windows when they’re playing zone are tighter really all over the field. That’s because the guys have a better feel, so they’re able to tighten down those triangles there that they play.”
Q: You have been around the league for a long time and seen position value change over time. With the current situation with the running back market, do you think there are any solutions to get them more money?
REID: “I think it’s cyclical. I just think it goes – running backs when I got in the league were making good money. Then all the sudden the pass game came up, and it’s working through the colleges and high schools and so everyone wants to play wide receiver now that teams are throwing the ball, so it devalues that position just a bit but it’ll come around. It’ll work its way back around.”
Q: Your observations on the new tackles Donovan Smith and Jawaan Taylor seeing them in pads now?
REID: “I like their effort. You’re never sure exactly what you’re going to get there. But they’re competing and that’s important – that’s an important part of this that you’re able to push through these practices – run and pass. I like the way they work their game (Chiefs offensive line) Coach (Andy) Heck likes them the way they’re working. And he’s got them in the individual and everything else there.”
Chiefs Player Quotes
July 30, 2023
WR JUSTIN WATSON
Q: What was it like during your free agency period, did you know that you were going to sign back?
WATSON: “Secretly I always knew that I was coming back here. You know we were going back and forth on the numbers, but when you get into year six and you’ve played in big time football games, once you experience GEHA field at Arrowhead and Chiefs Kingdom, you want to be a part of it. So, I was so glad that it all worked out, came back here and get to do it all again this year.”
Q: What have you experienced out there regarding competition in camp thus far?
WATSON: “Yeah, I mean we come out here, we compete like heck, we’re battling each other and then as soon as practice is over, it’s all handshaking and we’re laughing in the locker room. So that is what’s cool about a football team, you come out here, you beat the heck out of each other and then you have so much respect for the guy across from you when you come back to the locker room. You know, you’re even closer than you were when you came out here.”
Q: What is the biggest difference, in your opinion, between the wide receivers from last year and the ones coming in this year?
WATSON: “You know, I think there’s been a lot of change in this receiver room over the last two seasons. Last year I was the new guy even just being here for one season, this year it’s like you’re the seasoned vet. MVS (Marquez Valdes-Scantling) and myself are kind of the only two vets that we’ve had play in this system and so it’s just becoming a leader this year. We have a bunch of young guys that are just chopping at the bit and really pushing everybody, so it’s been a good mix of older guys and younger guys so far in camp.”
Q: Are there things about Blaine Gabbert that stood out to you from your time as teammates at Tampa Bay?
WATSON: “Blaine (Gabbert) is one of my closest friends, we were working out all offseason together while we were still free agents. So, whenever I signed, I put the full court press on him, wanting to get him up here. He’s such a tremendous talent, and to get him in this quarterback system and working with Pat (Mahomes) and seeing how those two talk about the game, you know, I think Blaine (Gabbert) is going to have a lot of success in the preseason and whatever capacity he has to throw the ball here.”
T DONOVAN SMITH
Q: How are you enjoying the competition so far against the defensive line and just getting yourself adjusted?
SMITH: “It’s good, it’s definitely an adjustment here. We definitely work our tails off here, you know it’s great. Anytime you’re going against a good defensive line like that you’re just able to hone in on your skills and get better each day. Make the man across from you better and you get better. So, we just strive for perfection each day and just go with it.”
Q: You said you guys hold each other accountable, what’s an example of that and what has really resonated with you so far?
SMITH: “Oh man, just the way we approach practice and a lot of things. When you touch the field just making sure you look the part, attention to details, uniform out in practice, those small things go a long way because obviously the more you pay attention to the details the other things make it easier. As soon as you lock in on all of those things, you key in on all of those things, it makes your job easier, you don’t have to worry about that stuff.”
Q: What’s the main strength of the offensive line right now?
SMITH: “Oh man, just the experience of where we are at. All of us have played a lot of football and a lot of big games, tough games. We’re all smart mentally, physically. It’s just more so we’re tying in each and every individual aspect of who we are and how we play and tying it together and figuring out what works, what meshes. You know, just the many things we bring to the table per guy I would say is our strength. To be able to run the ball, pass the ball, that’s big. We got big, athletic, mobile guys, which you know, go a long way.”
Q: Yesterday I noticed Travis Kelce came over and did drills with the O-line, have you ever had a tight end do that before and what kind of message does that send?
SMITH: “Yeah, I went from one hall of fame tight end to another hall of fame tight end. (Rob Gronkowski) Gronk used to come over and do O-line drills. It just shows you that as a tight end, you know a lot of guys want to be finesse and they just want to be a receiver and anything like that. To be able to have a guy whose 10, 11, 12 years in, coming over with the O-lineman to do drills, it just shows that there’s more to it than you can do to get better and be the greatest that you can be. To be able to have him come over there is cool, it gives us another break (laughter), an extra body. You know that’s good, it just shows the work ethic, and it shows everything it takes to be the best.”
CB JOSHUA WILLIAMS
Q: What have you seen from the wide receivers and how has going up against them been?
WILLIAMS: “I think all of the receivers as a whole, they’re a great group, there’s a lot of talented guys, a lot of slept on dudes. You can see it in our seven-on-sevens and one-on-ones, they’re skillful. Everybody has their own little craft, everybody has their own gift that they’re good at and they’re working. They’re making us better. We’re making them better, and I’m really excited to see what they can do this season.”
Q: In your offseason, what are some points that you worked on that you wanted to be better at coming into camp?
WILLIAMS: “Definitely the little things. Of course, you can always work on the playbook and that’s what I did, that’s what I’m still doing, but just technique things, things that might have got me in trouble last year, little penalties, stuff like that. That was a big emphasis and just working on my game as a whole, being prepared and knowing how to attack this second year.”
Q: You’ve been doing a couple pranks in the locker room, I saw the snake thing, what’s going on there?
WILLIAMS: “They had the little cooler in there with the snake thing man and really all I was doing was recording it. That was a – the crazy thing is they got me the first time. They had one of those little kids in there and he was asking me if I wanted an ice cream bar and I was like ‘Aw man that’s nice’, a little kid offering ice cream bars in the locker room. I go up to him, and he just, sweet as can be, he walked up and opened it up and I jumped up. There was like three of us. We ran out the locker room running. So, I’m just glad nobody caught me (laughter).”
Q: The stuff you mentioned you worked on in the offseason, where do you notice that out here at camp?
WILLIAMS: “Definitely press, we do a lot of press, working on that press technique. (Defensive Backs) Coach (Dave) Merritt and (Defensive Coordinator) Coach (Steve) Spags (Spagnuolo) even with them now, we’re still just honing and trying to perfect little techniques, things to expect at the line of scrimmage. So that was an emphasis in the offseason, still an emphasis now and that’s what we’re working on. “