Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach Quotes
August 29, 2024
OPENING STATEMENT: “(It’s) certainly exciting to say that we are officially one week away from the (season) opener, and we look forward to seeing that crowd and that excitement. We’ll certainly have some fun watching that (Super Bowl LVIII) banner drop, but I think the most exciting part of the night will be the opportunity to play one of the best teams in the National Football League in the Baltimore Ravens. I have a ton of respect for (Ravens General Manager) Eric DeCosta and the job he does and (Ravens Head) Coach (John) Harbaugh, so it’s going to be a lot of fun and certainly looking forward to it. With that being said, I want to thank my coaching staff and the personnel staff for the last few days getting this 53-man roster set. For the most part, I anticipate this will be the roster going into Week 1, but as you guys know, we’ll always continue to monitor the waiver wire and if we can get a little better, we’ll do that. I think we had a good, productive offseason with the guys that we were able to retain. A couple free agency players and then a draft class and undrafted free agency class that had eight guys make the team – really nine if you count Matt Araiza. Then, in the last few days adding JuJu (Smith-Schuster), Samaje (Perine), Cam Thomas and Eric Scott, so again, thanks to my staff for all their hard work and the coaching staff for their help in this process. With that, I’ll take your questions.”
Q: Why do you feel like it didn’t work out for Kadarius Toney in the long-term here?
VEACH: “I think we’re certainly disappointed (and) I think he’s (Kadarius Toney) disappointed – I mean, we really like the kid. I know that people could have different takes on Kadarius, but I know in this building, he’s a bright kid (and) he’s a smart kid. I think when you look back on it, some of the stuff is a stroke of bad luck in regards to some of the injuries, you can’t control. Like walking out of the first day of training camp last year and tearing his MCL. That was something that was just unfortunate. Some of the things, I think, that we talked about was – sometimes you can make some bad luck turn into good luck by just doing some little things in the offseason to take care of your body. I think that’s a process that he’s working through and again, it’s certainly not for a lack of talent. That’s a situation where I think (that) when you move on from players like that, I think everyone feels disappointed. As far as our relationship with the kid, I really like the kid and I don’t think that – we’ve seen the end of him. I think he’ll have a chance. If he’s able tighten up some of the offseason stuff and get his body right, I think he’ll go out there and make a ton of plays for another team.”
Q: How do you view the Kadarius Toney trade even though you didn’t get the long-term production?
VEACH: “Well, I mean, I don’t think we’re sitting here going for a third-straight Super Bowl had we not made that trade (for Kadarius Toney) so from that standpoint, (I’d) do it all over again in a heartbeat. It’s always disappointing when a player’s tenure comes to an end in that situation meaning you’ll have players that the age catches up to them. You’ll have players where maybe it’s, obviously, a really serious injury and then you’ll have players that you move on from where the talent just wasn’t there. I think when you have to move on from a player and the full product or the finished product or untapping all that talent wasn’t realized, there’s a disappointment. I think it goes both ways. I’m certainly sure that there would be things that he (Kadarius Toney) would do different in regards to just some of the offseason stuff and taking care of the body. Again, I think it’s a process. He’s a really smart kid and I do think he’ll figure it out. I think he’ll end up making plays for a team down the road here but as far as our interaction and working with the kid, he was actually a lot of fun to be around. (I) just hope for the kid that he can get a little luck on his side and stay healthy.”
Q: How do you see Samaje Perine fitting in?
VEACH: “That was a big role. When we finished our offseason and we went into training camp, one of the positions where we were concerned – you may hit another question, Adam (Teicher), but I’ll hit the (Samaje) Perine question, but was certainly d end. I think if you look – since I’ve been here, we’ve always carried five d ends. Game day, it might be four, some games it’s five but I think on the active roster, we’ve always carried five d ends. Then, with, obviously, BJ’s (Thompson) situation and then (Charles) Omenihu’s injury, we were on the lookout to add a fifth defensive end. In addition to that, that third down, Jerick McKinnon role. We obviously have some guys that can run and catch but the proficiency in pass pro – I think one of the things that Samaje brings to the table is that he’s been one of the best in the NFL the last few years on third down in regards to targets and pass protections. He’s just a veteran player that fills that role and (we’re) certainly excited to bring him in and get him up and running. Hopefully he’s up to speed quickly enough to be active on Thursday night.”
Q: What did you think of the depth coming out of camp? How do you feel you’ve addressed it?
VEACH: “I think we were able to address some glaring needs. Again, the fifth defensive end and the third down running back position. I think it’s similar – when you get to this point of the season – with every GM. I think there’s always something else you can do. Getting through OTAs and getting through training camp, working with the coaching staff and the personnel staff, I think we feel good but there’s always room for improvement. We have some unproven pieces at the corner position, but I do think we have some talent there and some guys have played in the past. Again, I think there’s always room to get better and I think we wouldn’t be doing our job if we weren’t continually combing through the waiver wire and the transactions.”
Q: What’s the early year hope for Hollywood Brown?
VEACH: “Well, I don’t like talking about medical because if I say something and he’s ahead of that timeline or behind that timeline then I don’t want to put any more pressure on the kid. I would say that – and I’m sure it’s been reported – I mean, I probably can confidently say it was similar to (Miami Dolphins Wide Receiver) Tyreek (Hill), and I think given that timeline I think it falls within the timeline that Tyreek went through, but I know he’s here every day. He’s to the point now where he can laugh without pain, so that’s a good thing. He’s certainly trending in the right direction, and look, there was a reason why we didn’t put him on the IR (injured reserve list) to start the season. I think within that window, defer to (Vice President of Sports Medicine and Performance) Rick (Burkholder), but I feel like he’s probably on that trajectory Tyreek was on.”
Q: What went into putting together the back end of the wide receiver room?
VEACH: “A lot of it has to do with special teams. I think with JuJu (Smith-Schuster), once we got out of the Jacksonville game, Hollywood (Brown) got hurt and had some conversations with JuJu (Smith-Schuster)’s agent. As we were kind of going through our roster, I think some of the other guys – (Nikko) Remigio had a good camp, Justyn Ross had a good camp, Montrell Washington had a good camp, but some of the things, you know, (Arrowhead Pride Editor-in-Chief) Pete (Sweeney) how (Head) Coach (Andy Reid) works with just alike components and certainly you’ll have Hollywood (Brown) and (Xavier) Worthy, and now Hollywood (Brown) being out, you’ll have Mecole (Hardman). Some of the things that Travis (Kelce) does, Noah Gray does really well. Then, with Rashee (Rice), he did fill in that JuJu (Smith-Schuster) role and there’s some of the intermediate stuff that he does well with Travis (Kelce) that we thought JuJu (Smith-Schuster) did better than the other players. He’s a bigger player than some of those smaller guys. Then, with some of the intermediate route running, I think he had maybe a little bit better feel, and Justyn’s (Ross) working on that. We all know Justyn (Ross) can make plays outside the numbers and use his size. I think as he continues to develop, that will be something that he’ll need to work on, and I think we feel confident he will. I just think that JuJu (Smith-Schuster)’s experience in that offense and that feel for that position gives us the ability to kind of sub these guys out, give them blows and hopefully still match that kind of production.”
Q: Did you want Louis Rees-Zammit on the practice squad or did you encourage him to pursue other opportunities out there?
VEACH: “We kept it open. We wanted the kid to really look at maybe some different opportunities as well. Pretty remarkable when you think about a player that doesn’t have any professional American football experience – no middle school, no high school, no big-time college experience. We were kind of thinking about it going through camp, imagine not having any sort of foundational background just to be thrown in and be doing one-on-one pass protections with a Drue Tranquill or Nick Bolton, I mean that’s pretty incredible. I think for him, it’ll just be finding out that exact position – running back, maybe a big slot receiver. I think he does have some potential as a returner. I’m not so sure he couldn’t be a kicker. I mean, he had an outstanding leg. You know with this new rule, he can do some different things, provide some versatility. I think the Jacksonville thing and their relationship overseas and what that brings to the table going overseas twice a year, I think that was probably something that interested him. (He’s a) phenomenal kid, (a) phenomenal worker, and again, just thinking back on the tremendous amount of progress he made in a short amount of time, I think he’ll continue to grow and develop, and I think he found a really good spot there in Jacksonville.”
Q: Do you have conversations with Trey Smith about an extension?
VEACH: “Yeah, we’ve been in conversations with Trey (Smith), and we still have some time here. We’ll get a chance to talk to both Trey’s (Smith) and Nick’s (Bolton) people. It is a little tricky when you get in the offseason. It’s hard to kind of work on four deals all at the same time not knowing where they’re going to end and not knowing where the money’s going to be allocated, so you do unfortunately have to do it kind of systematically and it does take time and does drag out. Fortunately, we were able to knock Harrison (Butker) out rather quickly, and obviously, Creed (Humphrey) was tricky. That took some time. He’s a tremendous player, but excited to get him done and now we still have some time here before the season starts, and we’ll see if we can continue to make some progress with the last few guys here – our younger guys that are going to be up next year.”
Q: Why is the roster turnover good on offense for you and the sameness on the defensive side?
VEACH: “Well, I think that just the combination of just contractually from the rookie contracts and just adding depth and I think we – one of the strengths that we have on our staff is how our coaches develop players. I think we’re looking at our roster and you see Kingsley (Suamataia) and (Hunter) Nourzad and (C.J.) Hanson and (Ethan) Driskell. You’re taking four rookies with no NFL experience into a season, but I think just the progression that they’ve made from the first day they’ve been here (and) through training camp. (I) can’t speak enough about (Offensive Line) Coach (Andy) Heck and the job he does. We’ve seen it over the years with (Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) Spags and (Defensive Backs) Coach (Dave) Merritt. I mean really all of our coaches, we take a lot of – we have a lot of confidence, I should say, in our coaching staff, and I think there’s that value that as we progress here and you’re paying your quarterback, obviously, rightfully so, the quarterback, the tight end, the d (defensive)-end, the center, everything’s at the top of the market. It’s just the reality of this business. You got to draft, and you got to develop young talent. With that mix of taking care of your veteran players that have earned it and continuing to draft and develop talent. It’s almost a necessity that we have to do it. Again, I think we put a lot of emphasis on the type of players that we bring in here. A lot of these guys are super smart, super versatile and have room to grow.”
Q: What do you see in the young group of backup offensive linemen regarding production this season and in the future?
VEACH: “I think – and we talk about this every year, I think the versatility stands out. Hunter Nourzad is a guy that obviously may be best suited to play center, but I think he gives a guard flex. I think (C.J.) Hanson needs some time, but I think he’s probably more suited to play center as well. I do think that he’s got a lot of room to grow, he’s super athletic. I think he just needs to get a little bit bigger and stronger, but I think he has guard/center flex. (Ethan) Driskell is just one of those type of players that has rare physical traits, he’s a big guy, he’s athletic. Again, like Hanson, there’ll be some anchoring issues and there will be some weight issues early on, but he was a guy that I think it was rough the first preseason game and then it got a little bit better and then it got a little bit better and then you can see him grow and get a little more confidence at practice. One of the hard parts of it is you see that, (then) there’s certainly another team seeing that. Then, we bring a player in here and we work with him, we develop him, we go through the rough patches and then all of a sudden to have him break free on the waiver wire, someone is getting a young player under a rookie contract with a ton of work that we put into it. I think there’s always that desire to see it through the end. Again, (Offensive Line) Coach (Andy) Heck has done this with many players over the years.”
Q: What are the toughest positions to develop these days?
VEACH: “That’s a good question. I think it’s probably team dependent and scheme dependent, so I can’t speak for every team and where they view that question going. I know for us, the linebacker position has been tricky for us because that’s another coach on the field. I think we’ve gone through some learning phases there but (Defensive Coordinator) Steve (Spagnuolo) does a great job in communicating exactly what he wants. We are very specific in regards to linebacker and safeties when it comes to free agencies in the draft. There are a lot of players that maybe go high in the draft that potentially weren’t even under consideration for us. I think that question is more scheme specific. I know that there’s a high threshold for those two positions, certainly quarterback is a tough position and then I think (that) you can probably follow up that question (with) what positions are hard to find on the waiver wire. To me, it’s the cornerback position because every team is looking for – I don’t know how many teams sit there and say that they have their three or four deep in regards to just Pro Bowl type players. It’s a hard position to play, I mean the receivers are so talented, you’re out there on an island a ton of the time. I think over the years the one position that is extremely difficult to find on the waiver wire is corner and that’s why I think you have to be a little bit proactive with trades and having communications with teams. Over the years I think we’ve done a pretty good job of identifying guys and putting claims in for the right guys, but you do have to continue to take chances with that turnover, with that position.”
Q: What did you see in Peyton Hendershot, Cameron Thomas and Eric Scott that made you want them?
VEACH: “When you get to the final touches of a 53-man roster, I think you’re looking for special teams. Whether that be – prior to signing Samaje (Perine), we were still looking for running back, tight end, special teams help. I think (Peyton) Hendershot is a guy that has played a ton of special teams reps there, so that if you don’t get it all the time from that running back position you have to get it from somewhere else and we have a good linebacker core. It would be good to do more at that tight end position. It also would be good to take Noah (Gray) off some of those things. I think Noah continues to get better, and he’s a guy that I think we want to feature (in the offense) a little bit more so knowing that, it’s good to have the ability to take him off of some of those special teams (reps). I had mentioned earlier in the press conference that I don’t think we had a fifth defensive end so that was something that we just needed from a depth standpoint. I think Cam (Cameron Thomas) is a guy that we like coming out and he’s a high motor player and he has some George Karlaftis qualities with the way he plays and how he attacks things. With (Eric) Scott we’re just – again, that goes back to the waiver wire and we’re just always throwing some numbers at that and again, (we’re) fortunate that we have a great coaching staff that if they have it, we‘ll get it out of them. When you have a guy that has traits, always wanting to take a chance there.”
Q: What are your thoughts on Jaden Hicks and what have you learned from him this far?
VEACH: “He’s done a great job. I think you guys saw it at practice early on at OTAs. It wasn’t one of those guys that we drafted, and he had some ups and downs then he started making plays. I think from the time he stepped on the field here; he had a good grasp of things and then that kind of translated right into training camp. Right off the bat, the Jacksonville game, he was the one player that stands out, and he’s continued to grow and develop, and I think he’s on track to have a special career here. I think he is going to have a big role on this defense. It’s funny, I was at home watching some preseason games after we got done playing one night and I think I randomly texted (Saints Safety) Tyrann Mathieu just to check in and say hi. We were exchanging texts and he kind of ended it with, “And 21 is a stud.” It’s not just apparent to us and to the media here that has been here and seen it. Even the league has taken notice of it and a guy like Tyrann Mathieu, he sets a standard there, so when he is sitting there watching games – and we aren’t talking Chiefs, we are just exchanging texts about families and what have you – so when he mentions it, I think it’s kind of taken the same way in by the rest of the league. He’s done a great job, and again, we are excited for him and where his future can go.”
Q: You have four defensive tackles, that’s a small number. Is that just how the numbers worked out?
VEACH: “I think that the corner position and the defensive line position, I think is just one of those things that where we’re going to continue to look at and monitor. That was certainly – that caused the urgency to get Cam (Cameron Thomas), again just as a defensive end. On the defensive line in particular, we did have some numbers that were close. We felt like we would have a good chance to get some of these guys on the practice squad to use the elevation. There is a little of us buying some time to get – I mean (Charles) Omenihu is going to be the big piece for us down the stretch. I think when we find a guy that we feel adds a little more upfield rush in that group – I think Turk (Tershawn) Wharton’s had a great camp. He is way ahead of where he was last year coming off that knee injury, so you have Chris (Jones), you have Turk (Tershawn) Wharton who had a great camp – I think we have an experienced player in Derrick (Nnadi). That third position or that fourth position with Derrick (Nnadi) (and) Mike Pennel – you know the end of the season he (Mike Pennel) had last year and that Super Bowl he had last year, he continues to define odds because he is an older guy, but he continues to bring juice to that room. I think if you had a guy that you can supplement in here that has some upfield rush, might be a smaller guy – we weren’t able to find that in the waiver wire (and) we will continue to do that. We also know that as this goes on here, we are going to get Charles (Omenihu) back and he is kind of that last missing piece of that defensive line for us.”
Q: You mentioned signing Samaje Perine and we haven’t seen him move yet, what is the update on him?
VEACH: “He’s (Samaje Perine) in the building now. It is just a matter of us turning the papers in. He is good to go, and I think he’s already got the playbook and got the first few meetings in with the coaches here. I’m sure you will see that on the transaction wire here soon.”
Q: Is there a sense of fulfillment thinking about where you were in the first day of free agency to where you are now that you have a roster set for Week 1?
VEACH: “I don’t know if there has ever been an opening weekend where you go into the game and you feel like you’re going to go out there and dominate. I mean this league, it humbles you super quick. There have been times throughout the last few seasons where we haven’t looked like the best team in the NFL. Fortunately for us, we have a strong culture (and) a great coaching staff. We’ve been able to stay healthy at the end of the year and get on a hot streak. I mean it’s so competitive I think – and again I can’t speak for the rest of the GMs – I continually stare at the roster and think how can we get better, and we’re not good enough and can we add something? I am certainly proud of my personnel staff and the work they’ve done and certainly appreciative of the coaches for all the input that they’ve added. I think it’s a never-ending process and another aspect of this is the attrition and the injuries. We’re going to have a lot (injuries) and we’re going to have a lot of young guys that at a certain point – and you look at that offensive line we’re going to be playing a lot of young players with no experience here. I think that there is a lot of talent and potential, but I also think that we wouldn’t be doing our job if we weren’t continually trying to make our roster better during the course of our season.”
