DeAndre Hopkins Trade to Chiefs: Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes talk

Kansas City Chiefs fans hoping for head coach Andy Reid to comment on the team's trade for wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins may have to wait a few days.

Reid's weekly media appearance on Wednesday came before the trade had been submitted to the league, so it was not official. Technically, that would have allowed any of Reid's comments about Hopkins to be manipulated.

“(General manager) (Brett) Veach takes care of all of that,” Reid said. “I’m keeping quiet about that.”

Pressed on whether Hopkins would practice Wednesday, the head coach playfully doubled down on his statement.

“I don’t know anything,” he said.

Hopkins was not present for the brief training session available to the media.

Patrick Mahomes' move was a little more fruitful.

As quarterback Patrick Mahomes stood at the podium, the media approached the topic hypothetically Conditions.

What if, for example, a pass catcher came into the building and needed to be ready in about four days?

“I think the biggest thing is just getting together with the coaches,” Mahomes said. “I think our coaches are doing a great job getting the guys up to speed. We've already seen that this year: bringing people in, getting them up to speed quickly, and then letting them go out and make an impact and do what they're great at. And those are things that I think the coaches do really well. Then me as quarterback? I just try to always be eye level with the guys there when I take a snap.”

And what if, say, the Chiefs drafted a wide receiver who was good at making contested catches, how comfortable would he be with such a target?

“Yeah, I think in my day we had receivers that could make some of those contested catches, and once you build that relationship and that trust, you put him up there and let guys go out there and make plays.” Mahomes replied. “I think that’s the thing about Coach Reid’s offense: It adapts to whoever’s in there. He has different ways to use your strengths. And then it’s my job to go out there and give the guys chances, give them a chance to go out and make plays.”

The Chiefs are no strangers to adding a wide receiver in the middle of the season. In 2022, Kansas City traded to the New York Giants for Kadarius Toney – and in 2023, Kansas City traded to the New York Jets for Mecole Hardman.

These circumstances gave Mahomes a blueprint for how to quickly integrate someone into the offense.

“I think the biggest thing for me, whenever a new guy comes into the building, is to get on the same page as quickly as possible,” Mahomes explained. “Even with guys like Kareem (Hunt) at the running back position. I just have the ability to talk to him during the protection calls, during the plays so to speak, to make sure he knows what his job is and then let him go out and execute it.

“I've been about bringing in new people throughout my career – that's part of the NFL. And like I said, I think the coaches are doing a great job of making sure the guys are prepared so they can go out there and have success.”