Head Coach Andy Reid
OPENING STATEMENT:"We finished up the day. The guys had their conditioning test today and then some meetings to finish up the mandatory minicamp. I'm proud of the guys for the work that they did this offseason. We had great attendance and the effort was great. They get a few weeks off here. It's important that they continue to condition, ramp it up for training camp, but I think we've got the right kind of guys to do that. Look forward to getting back up to St. Joe and getting busy."
Q: The guys who were either limited or didn't practice during OTAs, can you give us an update on what their status will be once camp starts?
REID: "I'll wait until camp I guess to do that, but we had a couple of running backs that weren't able to go. They were just able to do individual work, but both of them look like they're going to be okay, Damien (Williams) and Spence (Spencer Ware). DAT (De'Anthony Thomas) looks like he's making progress. He's still not able to do much, but we'll see how he is once we get started with camp. Mitch Morse, same thing. He had a screw removed from his ankle, but making progress. Again, we'll just have to see how it works out for him the next few weeks."
Q: Dee Ford?
REID: "Dee Ford should be ready for camp. Again, making progress. He's worked his tail off. He was able to do a little bit of individual stuff."
Q: Kareem Hunt will be okay?
REID: "Kareem Hunt will be okay."
Q: What's the importance of this time for Patrick (Mahomes) and the progress that he's made?
REID: "One of the things that we did was that we wanted to come in and make sure we challenged him. I thought he handled that very well. One of the big things for young kids is just the blitz game, so we put a big emphasis on that and tried to give him a lot of different looks there. Bob (Sutton) can do that. He's got a pretty good package with blitzes. I thought he handled that very well, even better than I expected. I really thought he handled the whole thing very well. It was pretty smooth. Again, I tried to challenge him with a number of plays and he handled it very well."
Q: Collectively what's the most encouraging thing you saw from the guys over the last couple of months?
REID: "We have a lot of new faces, so I just think the fact that guys were here and you start kind of building that team thing. They kind of size up one another, they see the competition and then they communicate. I think when it's all said and done, this is premature, but Brett (Veach) is going to have some tough decisions to make barring everybody stays healthy. I thought it was a very competitive camp."
Q: Do you have someone in mind for the center position at the start of training camp?
REID: "If Mitch doesn't, then Cam (Erving) will be in there. Cam took all the snaps this offseason. I thought he actually did a good job in there. We'll see how he does. That's what he was drafted as."
Q: Who will be in the left guard position?
REID: "We're kind working through that right now. We'll see how that goes."
Q: Have you seen any sense of the added toughness to the defense during this light work that Brett spoke about during the draft?
REID: "You get an idea. Still you have to put the pads on. Some of them I've seen. Reggie Ragland I've seen. Big, physical kid. Then we played against a couple of them so I've seen that in Hitch (Anthony Hitchens). They're physical players, they've been that and I wouldn't anticipate that being different. The young guys, I felt very good with Breeland (Speaks) and (Derrick) Nnadi, these guys did a nice job on the front end of it. I look forward to seeing them in pads."
Q: How far has Tanoh Kpassagnon come along?
REID: "Tanoh did very well. It was his first time strictly at outside linebacker and not bouncing between defensive line and linebacker. I really thought he made some big strides."
Q: What is the trio of Chris Conley, Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins capable of?
REID: "I thought Chris was really coming on last year before he was hurt. I was surprised by what he did out here, I wasn't anticipating that. We tried to back him off just a little bit because he was ripping and ready to go. That's the kind of person he is. I think that's a pretty good group right there. It's important that some of the young guys keep coming up and keep working. Which I think we saw D Rob (Demarcus Robinson) did a good job in there."
Q: Do you get a sense of what it's meant to the new faces in the secondary and the defense as whole to have Eric Berry back out there?
REID: "He's been the heartbeat of our defense, so having him back out there has been a positive thing. I think he likes what he sees. Those defensive backs take a close look, whether you're a corner or a safety, you take a close look at what's in front of you. They can make your job easier like some of the additions that we've made. He used this to kind of knock the rust off of his injury and you progressively saw him getting his step down back. I thought he did a nice job."
Q:Do you have any big plans from now until when training camp starts?
REID: "No, not really. I'll step back for a little bit and recharge and get ready to go. But I'm excited about getting back. Doesn't necessarily need to start tomorrow, but I'll be ready the next day."
Q: Seems like practice snaps this time of year are valuable – why did you decide to not go with those today?
REID:"So we've had great work and a great turnout. I wanted to get that run knocked out because it is supposed to get close to 100 degrees today, I didn't want to put those guys out there in that kind of heat, running around. So normally I do the run at the end of practice and we've been fortunate where it hasn't been too hot, so I just thought we probably needed to back off that. Normally today we only do a group install period, so it's a short period. We don't do much on this day even when we do have them other than the run part."
Q: Obviously trying to throw a lot at Patrick (Mahomes) during this time - anything you saw progression wise from him?
REID: "So Bob (Sutton) is going to give you a bunch of secondary looks. I saw him picking those up even quicker, so if it's a cover three you've got this read, if it's a cover two you've got this read. He just kind of snapped through that. Our defense does a lot of disguising, so you're doing that as the ball is coming to you. I thought he handled all of that well. The little things, the snap count, he was well over 50 percent of changing the snap count up and moving it around. Getting in and out of the huddle, we clock everything so I have an idea of how he's doing with that and with the verbiage of the plays and he handled that real well. It just kind of progressively got better in those areas as we went along."
Q: Was there a point or two of emphasis that you gave (Patrick Mahomes) that this is what we wanted to look for before camp starts?
REID: "Yeah, I'm not going to go into all that but that's a good question. Listen, you don't have to worry a lot about him in those areas. I'm not worried that he's not going to look at his playbook or those things. That's not where he's at. I want him to step back for a minute and then he can do what he needs to do with that part of it. He's not one of those guys. Like Alex (Smith), Alex was the same way and that's who he learned from. He's not one of these guys that you're going to have to remind to be asked to work. That's not how he goes."
Q: How much can you tell about a team this time of the year?
REID: "I would tell you this, like a baby you're trying to figure out what they're going to be when they grow older. You've got to go through the process and we all have to pump the breaks for a minute and get through training camp and let's take the steps. But listen, I think the fans feel this way that you're optimistic about it and there's some young talent that's unknown. We're all anxious to see how that develops. But let's let it develop and let's see how it goes. It's exciting."
Q: Chris Conley said Sammy Watkins picked up the offense as fast as anyone he's seen in his four years here – do you agree?
REID: "I thought he did a nice job of it. Again, we were moving him everywhere. Where he hasn't had to do that in his career, we had him all over the place. I thought he handled it very well."
Q: How did you feel the three other quarterbacks did getting introduced to the system?
REID: "Again, I thought they did a nice job. Two of them are veterans, they've been around for a little bit and been in similar offenses. I thought they did a heck of a job. Our young guy (Chase Litton), I thought he stayed on top of it and I thought he did a good job. You could tell that he had worked and studied. I was impressed by really all four of them and how they went about their business. It's a good room."
Q: Do you think there's going to be some things you can install with this offense that you haven't' done?
REID: "We've tried about everything before, so I'm not going to tell you. They'll kind of develop into whatever they are, or whatever we become here. We'll just see. We try to tailor it around the guys that are playing and what they do the best and the things that they don't do the best we ask them to try to get better at those things and work on them and we will just see how that goes by the end of camp. I'm curious to see how they do in camp where it's day in and day out challenges, both mentally and physically, every day, those legs are a little wobbly and the mind is tired. How are you going to work yourself through that. That becomes important for the later part of the season."
Q: How's the new coaches worked out so far?
REID: "Again, I was happy with those moves. I thought they did a good job. The players seemed prepared, I mean that's what I look at. Pretty simple that way. That they're leading their group and the players play well."
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes
Q: Did you get what you wanted out of OTAs?
MAHOMES: "Yeah, I think we did as a whole unit, offensively and defensively. A lot of guys got better. We have a lot of talented guys, we are going to keep working to get better every single day."
Q: Do you have a better feel for what you will be capable this season?
MAHOMES: "I feel like we were going to have a great season already and just to see the guys get in and work hard and really try to improve their game, it helps me be even more positive when the season comes around."
Q: What can having multiple guys to move around do for the offense?
MAHOMES: "It hurts defenses because then they can't focus on one spot on the field. We can attack everywhere on the field with different guys and that is kind of the thing we get when we have guys like Travis Kelce who is a tight end but basically a receiver. And then you have guys like Sammy Watkins who is a big receiver and you have a small receiver in Tyreek Hill. We have guys everywhere that can hurt defenses in every aspect of the game."
Q: Which players do you plan on throwing with during the time off?
MAHOMES: "I have already talked to some guys. I'll try to throw with everybody I can. You want to make sure you keep that connection and rhythm down. It might not be a ton. Guys want to get their legs back and get ready for camp. Guys have already talked to me and I've talked to them about getting together somewhere."
Q:What did you learn about Sammy Watkins over the last month or so?
MAHOMES: "I learned that he is a guy that works hard and has a ton of talent. He made some catches sometimes that I don't know how are possible. He's a guy that has a ton of talent and he really is loving this offense and being able to come in every day and work."
Q: Chris Conley said he picked the offense up as fast as anybody, is that the sense you got?
MAHOMES: "Yeah, no doubt. We have him playing all over the field, every position. He is really picking it up. He is doing stuff that guys who have to have advanced knowledge of the offense are doing. I don't know if it is coming natural to him or if he is just picking up the offense that fast."
Q: How has the chemistry in the quarterback room been for you?
MAHOMES: "I feel like it has been awesome. Guys have come in like everyone else and are working hard. We are competing everywhere. We compete in the weight room, we compete in our little competitions and at the same time, we joke around a lot. It's been awesome. I am learning the offense more and more and they are also trying to get in and learn. At the same time, you have guys like Chad Henne and Matt McGloin who have been in other offenses so they can kind of give different aspects of how they are looking at stuff and we can get together on what is the best way to go through plays."
Q: How much of this was to see how far you can go as a gun slinger or refining other aspects?
MAHOMES: "There is kind of a median, you have to figure out what you want to work on. There is sometimes I might overthrow Tyreek trying to take a big shot instead of taking the check down. There's sometimes where I need to work on working the 10-yard completion and moving the changes. You have to find that median of when you want to work on those deep ones and at the same time training good habits and being able to find the 10-yard completion when you need it."
Q: How do you think that has gone so far?
MAHOMES: "I thought it went really well. Coach Sutton was throwing a lot out there, but at the same time I feel like it is going to help me a ton during the season. He is working on their defenses and different stuff they can show. It helps me learn what I can do against certain defenses that I might not see but once or twice a year."
Q: What went through your mind when you found out Alex Smith got traded?
MAHOMES: "I don't remember exactly what I was thinking. I am trying to come in every single day and get better no matter if I was the starter or if I was the back up, I was trying to get better. For me, I'm just keeping that same mindset of just getting better every single day and when the time came, I was ready to go."
Q: When the trade happened, were you like "OK, it is really here, I am going to be the guy,"?
MAHOMES: "Not necessarily. I guess in a little bit of a way you're like, 'Alright, it is time to go.' I felt like, at the same time, I was really trying working on getting better and making sure I was ready when the time came."
Q: Are you just ready to get to training camp after all the hype this offseason?
MAHOMES: "Yeah, you get done with this last day and you get to relax for a little bit. Then you spend two days relaxing and you're like, 'I'm ready to play football again.' I'm excited for the season coming up. I am excited to take some time off to get my body back to where it needs to be, but I am going to be working a lot."
Q: How is the Instagram for you dog going?
MAHOMES: "My girlfriend has been wanting to do it. She did it and I kind of ran with it. I love my dog so it's pretty cool."
Q: Do you pay attention to all the things that are said locally or nationally about you?
MAHOMES: "You see it. You watch Sportscenter or you watch other networks and you see that stuff. For me, I am just trying to come in and play football. As a kid, you dream of moments of being able to play in NFL games and so I am just enjoying that and trying to win a lot of games doing it."
Q: How important can Chris Conley be as a third option?
MAHOMES: "You saw it last year with Albert Wilson and how important he was to this offense. With Chris Conley, he was a guy having a great season until he went down last year. It is someone who can solidify and complete that whole entire offense. If he is healthy, and he will be healthy because he is way ahead of schedule, just having him there and having someone who is reliable who is a freak athlete too. Just a guy that can take the top off a defense as well, it will help complete the offense."
Q: What has your relationship with Chris been like with him coming back?
MAHOMES: "It's been awesome. It's been huge to him to be able to be back and be able to go in these OTAs and this minicamp. It's something that we are trying to build this chemistry. He is a really smart guy. He always seems to be on the same page as me and so we can keep building and building to make sure we can have that chemistry throughout the season."
Q: With this time off, will you be more engaged in the U.S. Open or World Cup?
MAHOMES: "I would say the U.S. Open just because the USA isn't in the World Cup, but I will be engaged in that, too. It is a special time of year just to see the passion and the love of every country."
Q: What about the College World Series?
MAHOMES: "I will be very engaged in that with Texas Tech there. Hopefully making a run at the championship. They have a good enough team to do it."
Q: Who is on your Fortnite squad?
MAHOMES: "Fortnite squad, I haven't been playing a ton lately. But Gehrig Dieter and his brother plays with us, and then Tyreek Hill. We play a little bit but we've been playing a little bit of (NBA) 2K lately."
Q: What kind of a sense do you get that this offense will be different than the one you were in last year?
MAHOMES: "There is still a lot of the same stuff. We had a ton of success last year with the offense that we ran. There's definitely a little bit more flavor to what I like. Of course, every quarterback is different. But at the same time, a lot of that stuff has had success for many years so we are going to try to be perfect at all the basics of it and have a specialty play every once and a while in the game."
