The Kansas City Chiefs’ newest offensive lineman hasn’t yet taken the field with his teammates for a game, but he’s already making a lasting mark on the team.
Chiefs star QB Patrick Mahomes was asked to provide his first impression of new LT D.J. Humphries on Wednesday. He noted some unsurprising items, but he also pointed to how the veteran is already helping out the entire position group in short order.
“You see how talented he is,” Mahomes said. “I mean, the physical gifts are there. It’s been cool to watch him interact with other guys, too. You can tell he’s smart, he’s willing to teach guys, which is big in that room. We’ve got a lot of young guys there, and so I’ve been very impressed, and I’m excited for him to get more and more work with more and more practice. And then, hopefully, be ready to go as soon as possible.”
Even Andy Reid was referring to RT Jawaan Taylor as a young player just a season ago. Consider the fact that Wanya Morris, Kingsley Suamataia, and Ethan Driskell are the other tackles in the room, and there isn’t a whole lot of sage wisdom to rely on. Humphries doesn’t only provide a much-needed infusion of talent at the position, but he’s going to provide the young players with invaluable tips and tools of the trade that will make them better in the long run.
As for Humphries’ timeline to play, Chiefs HC Andy Reid gave another update on his potential availability for Week 14’s game on “Sunday Night Football.”
Chiefs HC Andy Reid drops a hint on D.J. Humphries’ status for Week 14 vs. Chargers
Will the Chiefs have a new starting left tackle in Week 14 against the Chargers? Reid was still unwilling to name Humphries his starter for the upcoming week and said that it’ll all come down to his performance during the practice week.
“Yeah, literally seeing what we can do at practice and how he feels and communication there, and just playing it day by day, so see how it all ends up,” Reid said. “I think it’s probably gonna go that way throughout the week here. He took some snaps last week, but this will be faster for him. Last week was a short week, so this will be a better indicator to see where he’s at.”
Humphries is going to do more this week than he did a week ago, which is a sure sign that he’ll have an opportunity to play if all goes well. Ultimately, Reid says he’s looking for someone to step up, take the job, and leave no shred of doubt.
“Yeah, I think eventually you want to get somebody in there that does a good job,” Reid said. “I mean, [someone] that really can stay in there and be that guy, as we develop the young guys, you’re gonna have some hiccups. So we know that. We knew that going in you. But you know, we’ll see, see if D.J. [Humphries] can do that. If he can do it, he can do it. If can’t, he can’t. We’ll see how it goes.”
As for the team’s other options during Week 14, both Wanya Morris and Joe Thuney remain in the mix at this time.
“[Joe Thuney is] one of the options, yeah, that’s one of the options,” Reid said. “Wanya [Morris] is still in there, too.”
No matter who is playing, Reid seems to have some confidence that they have the right pieces to get it done.
“Two of those three are veteran guys [D.J. Humphries and Joe Thuney] that we have an option to put in there, so you’re kind of banking on that,” Reid said. “I mean, Joe (Thuney) hasn’t had a bunch of snaps there. Either Wanya [Morris] or Kingsley [Suamataia] have taken most of the snaps. DJ [Humphries] hasn’t played other than the nine years or 10 years before this. So we’re banking on that part of it with a couple of those guys, the veteran part of it. They can step in there and take care of it.”
