Andy Reid Talks Josh Simmons, Jaylon Moore, Rashee Rice

Opening statement

“All right. Really, the only injury is a sickness, and that's Brashard Smith, so he won't practice today. Everybody else will practice. As far as the Josh Simmons situation goes, I'm not going to comment on it today. (Brett) Veach is handling everything there, and we'll leave it at that.

“And then as far as the Raiders go, they've got a good football team. They're very well coached. Pete (Carroll), we know, has done this once or twice. He's a heck of a football coach. And between Patrick (Graham), Chip (Kelly) and Tom (McMahon), they've got great coordinators there. And, every week they've gotten better and more familiar with their systems there, so we've got to make sure we play a good, solid, solid game and also have a great week of preparation.

“But we also love having them come in here to GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. We understand the rivalry, and our fans really understand the rivalry, and they get after it, but our players understand that, too. It has a little bit of that college atmosphere to it, where you have a team that you've had a rivalry with for many years, and you feel privileged to be a part of that.”

On whether Josh Simmons will practice Wednesday:

“Yeah, I'm just gonna let it go here.”

On confirming that there’s no timeline on the Simmons situation:

(correct).

On confirming Jeremy Fowler’s report that Rashee Rice has no ramp-up plan, and the team expects to use him early and often:

“Well, he's gonna play. I mean, how many snaps he gets? ... Ask Jeremy, he’ll tell you.”

On the energy level since Rashee returned three weeks ago, and whether it’s gone up knowing he can finally play:

“Yeah, listen, I think he's excited to be back in and going. I think getting through practices here will be good for him to kind of get back into the swing of things. And, we'll see how everything goes from there. But he's been working hard. He's in good shape.”

On Jaylon Moore and how he’s handled his role as an emergency swing player:

“And he's handled that part well. I mean, listen, he's a competitive kid, and he did come here to step in, and you never know … But he's always ready, and he practices a third of the practice, because Andy (Heck) rotates him in there. So, I thought he did a nice job the other night, played well. And we have a lot of trust in him. Most of all, the guys around him have trust in him. So that's the most important thing.”

On the Raiders’ Maxx Crosby and his relationship with Patrick Mahomes:

“Yeah, Maxx is a competitor. And he's 100 miles an hour every play. I'm sure he's that way in practice. He goes and goes. And so, he and Patrick, I think they're friends, actually, and they compete against each other. And that's the beauty of the sport. You have an opportunity to do that, so he'll be there, for sure.”

On whether he’s surprised that his offensive line has gelled so quickly:

“I thought just snaps were important, game snaps. I mean, when you can work in a training camp, you can do all that. It's important for that, but that just builds a foundation. But you've got to get in and you got to play. You got to see the different looks, and that's helped these guys. So, communication, I mean, which Creed (Humphrey) does a great job. Creed is a transmitter there, so he's got to get the right side and left side coordinated, and he does a great job.”

How how excited he is, specifically, to have Rashee Rice back?

“Yeah, it's great to have him back, but he's fresh here. So we’ll see how he does. He's a good football player, and as a coach, you always welcome that for sure. We just want to get back in the swing here.”

On the selflessness on his team, including the lack of ego among wide receivers:

“Well, in particular at that position, because there's so many of them. So, there's one ball and somebody isn't going to get it every snap. Four of them aren't going to get it every snap. So, they've got to check that ego at the door, and I appreciate that.

“And then when they do get opportunities, I appreciate the way they handle that, too. They're good football players. Hollywood (Brown) did have a really good game, and he's made a couple of, the last two weeks or so, he's made some catches that are really incredible catches. Tough kid, too. Not very big but tougher than shoe leather.”

On the wide receivers’ mantra, EGE, everybody gotta eat:

“Yeah, they don't worry about that with me.”

On Raiders head coach Pete Carroll, and the characteristics he brings to that team:

“Toughness. There's a toughness. He's got a great scheme, too. There's a toughness, and he brings in an energy.”

On how Rashee Rice unlocks another part of the offense:

“Yeah, listen. He's unique because of his size and ability after the catch to play physical. And so, you've got some speed guys, smaller guys, and then he and JuJu (Smith-Schuster) are kind of similar body types and game types, the way they play their game. But he gives you flexibility. Yeah, and the guys feed off of that. They love the kid. So, it's a win-win either way, to add him into the mix coming up.”

On offensive coordinator Matt Nagy being mentioned as a head-coach candidate:

“Nobody's called, but I'm his biggest fan. Spags (Steve Spagnuolo), likewise. Listen, if they have that opportunity, more power to them. But I don't talk to many people during the season, and I don't read anything. So, I hope he gets that opportunity for sure. Tremendous coach and person.”