Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid provided the first official statement on the offseason arrests of defensive end Frank Clark.
Clark was twice arrested for possession of an illegal firearm in his hometown of Los Angeles this offseason, once in March and once in June. The 28-year-old pass-rusher was set to be arraigned for his first charge in July, but the hearing was delayed until October.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Reid explained that he’s had a conversation with Clark since learning of his two arrests, but he would not divulge any details of their conversation. Reid did say that Clark would be in attendance at training camp when veterans report to camp early next week.
“Listen, I stay in communication with all of our players during the break, the best way I possibly can,” Reid said. “So, I have had a chance to talk with Frank (Clark). I’m not going to get into that. There’s nothing that has taken place up to this point. Frank will be here and we’ll go forward with that. Obviously, we keep tabs on it and his people will keep tabs on their side of it, and we move forward. That’s where we’re at now, but he will be here. Not now, but when the veterans get here.”
Reid also seems to believe that the Chiefs are prepared in the event of a suspension or a move to Commissioners Exempt List that would keep Clark off the field in Kansas City.
“Yeah, so listen, we brought old 97 (Alex Okafor) back and put him back in the mix here last week,” Reid said. “I think that’s a good addition. I think we’re going to be okay there. We’ve got a couple of young guys that we think are good football players too.”
The Chiefs recently re-signed DE Alex Okafor, who had previously been with the team since 2019. That veteran presence, combined with some of the young guys like Mike Danna and Joshua Kaindoh, should make for a promising rotation on the edge. Reid also offered up some unprompted thoughts, explaining that the team has some flexibility to move one of their star defenders to the edge.
“Let me add this to you too,” Reid said. “Just a reminder that Chris (Jones) was working both spots. We have the flexibility to move Chris out there and that’s where the Jarran Reid part of this, I think, was a big addition that (Brett) Veach added to us.”
It seems like Chiefs fans should get used to the idea of Chris Jones playing more defensive end in 2021. Last season, he played over 200 snaps aligned at the position, the highest mark of his NFL career.
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