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Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid is becoming well-known for his free agency recruiting pitches.
A few years ago, JuJu Smith-Schuster revealed that Reid had been texting him pictures of the Lombardi Trophy, relentlessly. It didn’t work the first time around, but the second time Smith-Schuster made it to free agency, it was more convincing. It also paid off for the wide receiver given the results of the 2022 NFL season and the lucrative contract he signed with the New England Patriots this offseason.
Now, another newly-signed free agent has revealed that Reid made a last-ditch text message recruiting effort. Drue Tranquill appeared on NFL Network’s “NFL Total Access” on Thursday, peeling back the curtains on his decision to leave the Chargers for the Chiefs.
“Well, obviously, to me, obviously football is a business, but football’s also family,” Tranquill said, via NFL.com. “I poured my heart out there for four years in L.A. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out. I was really honored by the way the Chiefs pursued me, all the way from the front office down to the coaching staff. Andy Reid literally texted me the morning of [when] I was going to make my decision and he was like, ‘Think red. Think red. Think Super Bowls.’ I just felt really valued over there, felt like they really had a role for me and really wanted me over there. So, I’m excited to join up with those guys. I’m going to miss a lot of my teammates and coaches over there in L.A., but excited for this next step.”
This message and method were certainly more effective than spamming pictures of the Lombardi Trophy. This isn’t the first time that Tranquill has detailed how he ended up in Kansas City, but it’s clear that he felt wanted and felt like he could be a part of something special moving forward. That’s all part of the free agency game in the NFL and perhaps an easier sell when you’re coming off of a Super Bowl title.
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