Skip to main content
Advertising

Kansas City Chiefs Official Team Website | Chiefs.com

Five Things We Learned from Wednesday's Media Availability

Head Coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes met with the media on Wednesday afternoon

The Kansas City Chiefs returned to practice on Wednesday in preparation for this weekend's clash with the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday Night Football.

For a look at Wednesday's injury report, click here.

Prior to practice, Head Coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes met with the media to discuss the upcoming matchup.

Here are five things that stood out from their pressers.

1. Reid shared some big news on the injury front as wide receiver Tyreek Hill and tailback Damien Williams both returned to practice.

Hill (shoulder) was injured in the season-opener and Williams (knee) has missed each of Kansas City's last two games, but both were back at practice on Wednesday.

"Tyreek will get out there and move around a little bit. We'll see how he does," Reid said. "Damien Williams will do what he can do out there, too."

Others have certainly stepped up in Hill and Williams' absence as the offense has still found plenty of success, but their return is a major storyline to watch moving forward.

Cornerback Morris Claiborne was also back at practice on Wednesday for the first time since the preseason after serving a four-game suspension to begin the year.

Reid was asked if he was planning for Claiborne to play on Sunday, but that decision is still up in the air.

"I don't know. We'll see how he does out here," Reid said. "We'll get him back in and see how it rolls with him."

2. Reid was later asked to discuss the growth of rookie wide receiver Mecole Hardman and his chemistry with quarterback Patrick Mahomes, particularly on intermediate passes.

"Those aren't the highest percentage throws, but they're working together and they spend extra time. He's a young guy. For him to even play at the level he is playing at right now is a pretty amazing deal," Reid said. "He'll keep coming. He's a smart kid and he works hard. Those things, once they keep doing them, they all work out."

Hardman has eight catches for 167 yards and two touchdowns through his first four games a professional.

3. Mahomes, meanwhile, was asked how long he expects it'll take to re-capture the electric connection that he shared with Hill last season.

"I don't think it will take long at all," Mahomes said. "We worked all offseason, in training camp and everything like that and having the guys that we have, we just rotate guys through and get guys reps. I think just having him out there and being able to just pick back up where we left off will be something that's easy to do."

The duo was prolific last season, connecting for a franchise-record 1,479 yards and 12 touchdowns as Kansas City posted the third-best statistical scoring attack in NFL history. The offense has still hummed for the most part this season without Hill, but Mahomes explained what the speedy receiver's return means for the Chiefs.

"Obviously, with the attention that he gets and how explosive he is, he can take a little shovel pass and take it to the house," Mahomes said. "We have a lot of guys like that, but he's the kind of guy that defenses have game plans for. Defenses have to account for him with one or two guys to try to figure out a way to stop him, and it helps everybody else out. Having him back and when he comes back, we'll utilize him and the other guys to expand our offense and really take it to another level."

4. Mahomes later talked about Kansas City's game-winning drive in last week's victory over Detroit and how the resiliency demonstrated in that game can help the Chiefs moving forward.

Mahomes led the Chiefs on a 13-play, 79-yard scoring drive to take the lead in Detroit with just 20 seconds remaining in regulation.

"Coach Reid puts us in those situations in training camp, but it's different when you get to live action," Mahomes said. "I said it after the game, you aren't always going to win by two or three touchdowns, a lot of times in the NFL you're going to have to find a way to score at the end of games. Getting into the meat of the schedule and as we keep playing more and more games, we're going to be put in that situation again, and to have an early instance where we found a way to win is going to be able to help us out a ton in the long run."

5. Finally, Mahomes shared his excitement to get back to Arrowhead in front of a prime-time crowd.

The 24-year-old Mahomes is 9-2 in his brief career at Arrowhead Stadium (including the postseason), leading the Chiefs to at least 30 points in eight of his 11 games.

"Anytime you get to play at Arrowhead, it's exciting," Mahomes said. "From the experience I got these last few years in a primetime games to see how the fans show up and are loud, it's an awesome feeling getting to go out there and play in front of those guys."

The Chiefs return to practice on Thursday ahead of this weekend's matchup.

Advertising