KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For the first time since hoisting the Lombardi trophy in February in Las Vegas, the Kansas City Chiefs gathered back together Wednesday for the first of three organized team activities or OTAs.
The gathering comes as the team navigates a busy offseason and attempts to retool the roster to compete for a third-straight Super Bowl title.
“Good to get these guys together,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid told reporters Wednesday afternoon.”
The offseason has included Chiefs WR Rashee Rice navigating criminal charges from a crash earlier this year in Dallas, and fallout from a commencement speech earlier this month by K Harrison Butker at Benedictine College.
Last week, two Chiefs offensive linemen, Wanya Morris and Chukwuebuka Godrick were cited in Johnson County, Kansas, for misdemeanor marijuana possession.
Reid told reporters the team will continue to let the legal process play out for Rice, Morris and Godrick.
“You communicate before they leave to make sure they take of business,” Reid said in answering a question about how he works to limit offseason issues. “Sometimes things happen and you’ve got to work through that.”
Reid said that he hasn’t talked with Butker since the commencement speech.
“We’re a microcosm of life here,” Reid said. “Everybody is from different areas, different religions, different races. We all get along.”
“We all respect each other’s opinions, Reid continued. “Not necessarily do we go by those, but we respect everyone to have a voice. That’s America. My wish is that everybody could follow that.”
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes also fielded questions Wednesday about Butker’s speech.
Mahomes said that after knowing Butker for the last seven years, he’s seen him every day and believes he cares about the people around him, his family and “wants to make a good impact on society.”
“There’s some things that he said that I don’t necessarily agree with, but I understand the person that he is and that he is trying to do whatever he can to lead people in the right direction,” Mahomes said. “That might not be the same values that I have, but at the same time, I’m going to judge him by the character that he shows every single day.”
Mahomes noted that there are certain values that some people emphasize more than others.
“You make your own decisions at the end of the day,” Mahomes continued. “What makes this country so great is that you’re able to get as much knowledge as you can and then make your own decisions.”
Mahomes was also asked about his communication with Rice following his arrest.
“Just trying to teach him how to learn from his mistakes,” Mahomes said. “Obviously that was a big mistake that you have to learn from and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Reid continued, “Right now, we’re just going to keep doing everything we can to get him on the right path to get him to be a great football player obviously but we want him to be a great person too.”
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