At the end of this very busy week, find all the latest Kansas City Chiefs news from the past week below.
This week began with news from a former Chiefs player. Former starting QB Alex Smith announced his retirement from the NFL on Monday. Alex Smith spent five seasons in Kansas City when Andy Reid first arrived with the team in 2013. He helped a great deal in establishing the culture the Chiefs have right now.
Reid and Mahomes spoke highly about the former quarterback and emphasized what an amazing man he is. “He’s a heck of a person. He had a great career, played for a number of years here and with other teams. Everywhere he went, he made them better. I texted him a while back, if he gets into coaching, I’ll get first dibs on him,” Reid said to the press. Current Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes only spent one year with Smith in Kansas City, but that one season had a huge impact on the young player and he continues to credit Smith for his early development as an NFL player.
“Yeah, I mean, just a tremendous guy, obviously a great player,” Mahomes said of Smith. “Obviously, with the injury he had, to be able to come back and lead his team to the playoffs, it shows you the type of man he is, the type of team player he is. I’m just grateful for the time I had with him that really helped develop me be the quarterback I am today.”
Going back to the first press conferences of this pre season, we had quite a few information.
Indeed, the Kansas City Chiefs still have not extended Tyrann Mathieu, a key member of their defense, and an extension lots of fans are waiting for anxiously. The Chiefs safety is actually entering the final year of his contract, and Mathieu is leading the Kansas City defense in both interceptions (6) and passes defended (9). He is quite a playmaker!
Veach said he didn’t have a clear timeline on when an extension could get done, but the team clearly has an interest in extending Mathieu’s stay in Kansas City. Mathieu is interested as well, saying earlier this week that he’d, “love to spend the rest of his time in Kansas City.” He also said: “Everybody has embraced me here. It reminds me so much of a football town. For me, that’s everything. Waking up, seeing my family, going to play football. It’s a blessing to be here.” So that’s very good news.
On a lighter note, we also learned that the Kansas City Chiefs submitted a proposal to ease jersey numbers to the league and it has been approved by NFL ownership according to multiple reports. This rule will expand the usage of single-digit jersey numbers (and 10-19) across different position groups. Running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, fullbacks, linebackers, and defensive backs will now be allowed to wear single-digit numbers.
Furthermore, we also had news about the vaccination plan at Arrowhead. As of Monday, players could officially return to team facilities, but only a handful of players and staff have been fully vaccinated so far. One confirmed to have received his vaccination is Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid. “There’s approximately 18 that have been vaccinated,” Reid told reporters on Monday. Among them is Patrick Mahomes, whose decision was made based on protecting his future wife and his newborn daughter.
Finally, the coaching staff had a few changes at the beginning of the month and Reid talked about those changes this week. Obviously, the biggest addition for the Chiefs was to bring in former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker coach Ken Flajole. He brings over two decades of NFL coaching experience to Kansas City and he is an old friend in Andy Reid’s coaching tree. Hopefully, Ken Flajole will help the team to appear in a third straight Super Bowl this season.
In the meantime, Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is still rehabbing from offseason toe surgery. “Yeah, I mean I think I’m progressing well,” Mahomes told reporters on Monday. “I think I’m ahead of schedule myself. Obviously, they’re trying to be cautious and not push me out there too soon, but I’m doing what I can.” We can be pretty sure the team will not make any risky moves and protect their star quarterback. The beginning of the season is still a few months ahead, with plenty of time to recover fully.
And, of course, a major bomb has exploded this week with a trade between the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs. Indeed, Pro Bowl offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs, the teams announced Friday. The deal also gives Baltimore an additional first-round pick, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The Chiefs get a starting left tackle in Brown, with sources saying Kansas City will also get Baltimore’s second-round pick in 2021 (No. 58 overall) and a sixth-rounder in 2022.
The Kansas City Chiefs made everything this offseason to protect Patrick Mahomes’ blind side, acquiring a Pro Bowl left tackle. After the ugly loss at the Super Bowl LV and the impression Mahomes was constantly running for his life, the Chiefs have completely revamped the unit. Brown could be the key player the Chiefs needed to protect the MVP QB efficiently.
