Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid share powerful messages for rookies ahead of first-ever NFL preseason game vs. Cardinals
Chiefs HC Andy Reid and QB Patrick Mahomes revealed what they’re telling rookies appearing in the first-ever NFL game in preseason Week 1.
The Kansas City Chiefs are set for their first action of the 2025 NFL preseason with an upcoming tilt against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Speaking to media members ahead of the upcoming game, Chiefs HC Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes both delivered meaningful words for the rookies in Kansas City who are seeing their first NFL action this Saturday.
“They’re in front of some bright lights, and it takes it up one more notch, not quite the season, but you’re still in front of a big crowd and against another team,” Reid said. “So, your adrenaline level gets pushed to another level. And let’s see how we do.”
Being in front of the crowd during training camp at Missouri Western State certainly helps with performing in bright lights, but the real test for these players is whether all of the work they’ve put in can translate to an in-game scenario. If you’re a standout and making plays at training camp, can you continue to do so against an actual opponent? That’s where Mahomes’ message to his team really comes into play for Kansas City.
“Yeah, I think it’s going out there and doing what they’ve done this camp,” Mahomes said. “I mean, obviously it’s gonna be a bigger stage. They’re going up against another team, but I think Coach (Andy) Reid prepares us better than anybody else in the league to go out there and play your best football, and that’s because we practice hard, we practice fast. So, when you get to the game, it’s not that huge step up. It’s a step up, for sure. It’s not that huge step up. So, go out there like you practice, have the right mindset, and just play fast, and let the rest handle itself.”
The work they accomplish during training camp actually weighs a bit more heavily than what transpires in the preseason. Sure, the highlight plays are fun for the fans. The truth is that the team doesn’t spend much time at all game-planning, as they would for a regular-season game. They’ve got quite the vanilla playbook and install for the game, which makes it that much more important that players remember everything they’ve learned out in St. Joseph, Missouri, especially the fundamentals and things that can help them win and compete at the highest levels on a snap-to-snap basis.
“I’ve told you before, we don’t spend a ton of time on the game,” Reid concluded. “Part of it, we try to get our work done in here. I think that’s the most important right now. We’ll give them some stuff this afternoon, and talk about it, and they get a walkthrough tomorrow with the mock game. So, but we’re not spending a ton of time on it, and I imagine they’re doing the same thing. So, but it’s always good to go against somebody else and have a little competition that way.”
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