What we learned from Andy Reid on Monday

Andy Reid spoke to reporters about a number of subjects when speaking to the press at the start of offseason training workouts.

On Monday, the Kansas City Chiefs kicked off their voluntary offseason workouts with the introduction of Phase One (of three) that allows for strength and conditioning as well as some team meetings and further rehabilitation for players with lingering injuries. The return to Arrowhead for so many also means that Chiefs Kingdom got a chance to hear from a few figures from the team including head coach Andy Reid.

Reid spoke to reporters remotely and was asked about a number of offseason subjects less than a couple of weeks before the NFL Draft is set to get underway. Most of the questions were predictably about the changes endured by the Chiefs this offseason, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

Tyreek Trade

The biggest storyline for the Chiefs this spring is undoubtedly the trade of Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins for five draft choices, and that was a common subject on the afternoon for Reid. When asked about changes to the offense, Reid stated, “I don’t think it will be significantly different to what we did in the games Tyreek couldn’t play in.”

“There are certain things he did very well and we’ll have people try to fill in those spots without forcing anything. What we normally do on this is to play to the players’ strengths, so we’ll see what some of the new guys can do and we’ll work around that.”

Reid also confirmed that he kept things “wide open” with Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce with regards to the trade, knowing how close they were as teammates.

Niang’s Health

The Chiefs originally invested a third-round pick in Lucas Niang two years ago, but only saw him on the field for the first time in 2021 due to his decision to opt out during ’20 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last season, Niang looked solid in stretches, but injuries really sidelined any major progression and development, including a season-ending patellar tendon injury. That last one is the sort of issue that can linger long-term and it casts a shadow at right tackle for ’22—especially at the beginning of the season.

For now it appears that the Chiefs know as much now as anyone else regarding Niang’s ability to play outside. Andy Reid stated that there’s not a lot of information available at present with a need to wait and see what happens with more time to rehab.

“Lucas has done a nice job rehabbing and Rick has stayed on top of that part. We’ll just see. I don’t want to put a date on it, so we’ll just see where it goes once we get back into these next two phases after phase one. We’ll see where his progress is as it goes forward there.”

Without Niang in the lineup, the Chiefs do have Andrew Wylie back in the fold as well as newcomer Geron Christian to compete for reps at right tackle.

MVS Addition

Earlier this offseason, the Chiefs landed former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling on a three-year deal worth up to $30 million, a signing that will help fill the void by trading away Hill. MVS comes to the Chiefs known primarily as a deep threat, which will certainly be an area where the Chiefs will miss Hill, but Andy Reid spoke glowingly about Valdez-Scantling’s ability to do a lot of things well.

“He’s a big kid. He’s very smart. I think it’s great that he’s getting a jumpstart with Pat here going down on his own time there and working with him just so they get to know each other. I think Marquez can do a lot of different things. He’s got good stop/start ability. He’s a big target. He can run your slant games. He can take your deep throws. He can run those intermediate routes. He’s got a good feel in space. So he gives us a little flexibility in there.”