Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid spoke to the media on Friday for the last time before his team hits the road to face the Denver Broncos. Reid discussed plans in response to the team’s expected absences after four players were ruled out ahead of the game. First, he spoke on the defensive end depth for the team with Alex Okafor and Taco Charlton sidelined with injuries.
“The one thing that we do have is Chris (Jones) can play either or, if needed, so I think we’ll be okay with the rotation there,” Reid said.
Demone Harris should be active for the first time this season. Chris Jones would be an emergency option at defensive end for the Chiefs. He played there a few times last season due to injury as well.
Reid also confirmed that the team would use the same offensive line composition that they finished their Week 6 game with. That means the line will be as follows:
- LT Eric Fisher
- LG Nick Allegretti
- C Daniel Kilgore
- RG Andrew Wylie
- RT Mike Remmers
This will technically be the fourth starting offensive line the team has rolled out this season.
“I think it’ll be a good challenge for us with that defensive front,” Reid explained. “That’s a good defensive front, inside techniques. 96 (Shelby Harris) is I think a heck of a player. Every year he’s gotten better and right now he’s playing at a very high level. And we know about 55 (Bradley Chubb), and 59 is kind of a new addition too, (Malik) Reed, and I think he’s an explosive player. So, they’ve got good talent there. That’ll be a good challenge for our offensive line, and I’ll be curious to see how we do. Like I said, you’ve got to strap it on when you play that group, and their linebackers are big, physical guys.”
The Broncos will get back interior defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones this week too, providing another test for the offensive interior.
Finally, Reid addressed the question that everyone has been wondering. What type of role will their new running back, Le’Veon Bell, have against Denver in Week 7? Reid expected to confer with Bell to gauge his comfort level before the game.
“I’m going to try to visit with him here—I was waiting until after this practice—just to see where we were at with him, where his comfort level was with what we’re doing,” Reid said. “But it looks like he’s picking things up well, so I think there’s a chance that he can get a couple snaps in there. But I’ll see here. I haven’t had time to talk to him after this practice yet, so I’ll visit with him to see where he’s at.”
The initial impression for Reid is that Bell has been picking things up rather quickly and that he could get a couple of snaps come Sunday. A couple could snowball into many quickly depending on just how quickly Bell was able to pick things up during the week of practice.
[vertical-gallery id=79123]