Andy Reid didn't hold any secrets from Patrick Mahomes when the Kansas City Chiefs were in the process of trading Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for five draft picks. For the Chiefs, it was a no-brainer to let their franchise quarterback aware that drastic changes were coming to the offense.
"Myself and Brett kept it wide open with Patrick. It's part of playing that position," Reid said at Chiefs virtual minicamp Monday. "There's a pretty good chance there's change that's going to take place throughout your career, so that's all part of it. I also mentioned it to (Travis) Kelce just so he had a heads up on it too.
"Those guys are very close, the three of them, and they've had a lot of production for us. It's important they see that part, that's part of this game – change does take place. And I think if you beat around the bush on it, I don't think that's good either. I'm kind of up front, this is what it is. This is the plan going forward."
The Chiefs being honest with their players is part of what drives free agents to Kansas City, even if the franchise can't land all the free agents it covets. This offseason Kansas City was able to add talent at wide receiver with Marquez Valdes-Scantling (who signed after Hill was dealt) and JuJu Smith-Schuster, while also signing safety Justin Reid and running back Ronald Jones. This was an active free agent period thanks to the added cap space available in the wake of the Hill trade.
"There's a strategy involved with it," Reid said. "Patrick did a comfortable deal where we have some flexibility there too, but in this day and age, unfortunately, you can't just pay everybody. It's a hard thing to do to extend a contract. So, you're going to lose a guy here and there. That's how it works.
"We're in good hands though. We have an owner that understands that and is sharp with it. Brandt Tilis and Chris Shea (Chiefs vice presidents of football operations) are Brett's (Chiefs general manager Brett Veach) counsel right there that have a great feel for the cap and staying current with it but still being able to project into the future. Brett is phenomenal at working all the angles there and has a great understanding of it too and has that aggressive personality to go forward. He immediately worked on that by bringing in a couple receivers."
The Chiefs will continue to look at the long game in order to keep their championship window intact. Reid has been through this situation when Donovan McNabb was in his prime with the Philadelphia Eagles in the early 2000s and is going through the same process with Mahomes entering his prime.
Philadelphia made a lot of deep playoff runs with this strategy. Reid is hoping for the same in Kansas City.
