Nov 3, 2023; Frankfurt, Germany; Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid (left), quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) and general manager Brett Veach during practice at DFB Campus. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Reid Shares 5-Word Advice He Gives Chiefs Before Final Cuts

Originally posted on Kansas City Chiefs on SI
By Zak Gilbert | Last updated Aug 21, 2025 10:01 AM ET

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Brett Veach’s job description requires both telescopes and microscopes. Evaluating talent across the league and in college, and whether it’s better than what he has in Kansas City, is a 12-month job.

But that task is even more important this week with NFL teams forced to reduce their rosters from 90 to 53 by 3 p.m. CT Tuesday. Andy Reid and his staff also are involved in those decisions. The head coach said Wednesday he loathes this fateful weekend, but also gives players five words of advice.

“Just make our job hard,” Reid shared after Wednesday’s practice. “Make it hard for Veach and his crew and the coaches, to get rid of them.”

Wide receivers on bubble

Getting rid of one or two wide receivers might be Kansas City’s hardest decision in the next 96 hours. After the Chiefs host Chicago in Friday’s preseason finale at Arrowhead Stadium (7:20 p.m. CT, KSHB 41, 96.5 The Fan), Veach, Reid and their staffs will sequester themselves in a room filled with film and debate.

For players on the bubble, a good supply of Tums on hand is a good idea.

“My advice to them is that, every opportunity, make the best of it,” veteran wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster said Wednesday.

“Throughout the preseason, you get those chances to go out there, you work, whether it's blocking, making plays, catching the football. And, for a lot of them, it's also for other scouts, all other 31 teams look at our film, vice versa.”

Wednesday's trade alleviated some pressure

One of those 31 teams, San Francisco, took Chiefs wide receiver Skyy Moore in a Wednesday trade. With that move, Veach alleviated some of the pressure on his team with respect to which wide receivers will make the final roster.

Jason Brownlee, Tyquan Thornton and Nikko Remigio each give the Chiefs different attributes. Their special-teams contributions also will enter the discussion. Special teams coordinator Dave Toub has been speaking at these final-cutdown meetings since he worked for Reid’s Eagles in 2001. And offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said a plethora of solid wideouts is a good problem to have.

“They do a great job of trying to figure out, ‘Okay, if this guy is on the roster, how can we maximize what he does best?’,” Nagy said Tuesday. “And then vice versa, if there's a guy that's a special-teams guy and we need him in a certain role, how do we get him in the offense and use him?

“Because you want to maximize those guys that are up for gameday and you want to try to stay away from having a guy that's playing four or five, six plays a game. You'd like to use those guys as much as possible. But the coaches do a good job of that.”

Still, Reid said he doesn’t look forward to this annual weekend.

“It’s a tough day,” he said Wednesday. “That’s not part of the job you like. But inevitably you got to almost cut half a team. So, that’s not an easy thing.”