Welcome back to the Arrowhead Pride Mailbag! Each week, watch for your opportunity to submit your Kansas City Chiefs questions in The Feed, which is found on AP’s home page.
Now 0-2 for the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era, let’s see what is on readers’ minds.
Carlos M Serrao asks:
Has Reid reached a limit to what he knows what to do on play calling, or has the game evolved past his coaching ability?
@natepercell asks (via X):
Why do people so easily lose faith in the team after a close regular season loss against a good team, without our best
weapons?
We’re going to look at both extremes of the panic spectrum.
On one side, there’s the hot take that the game has evolved beyond Andy Reid’s coaching ability. That doesn’t hold up. The Chiefs are just a season removed from going 15-2 and making a Super Bowl appearance. This year, they’ve opened against two playoff teams from last season and still had chances in the fourth quarter of both games to tie or take the lead.
On the other side, blindly assuming everything will be fine is also a hot take. These first two games don’t resemble the standard Kansas City has set over the last seven seasons, when the worst-case outcome was losing the AFC Championship in overtime. Even with improvement, this season may not last as long as past ones. Many of the issues we’re seeing now were present last year, even in several uncomfortable wins.
I won’t entertain the “Andy is washed” narrative, but I do wonder: after coaching nearly a full calendar year with at least one starting wide receiver unavailable every week, has Reid maxed out what he can do with the current offensive status quo? I don’t think he’s going anywhere, nor should he. But it’s fair to say the Chiefs have missed the natural rotation of coaching staff turnover. Deep playoff runs have pushed them beyond the hiring cycle, leaving assistants without chances to explore other opportunities—and leaving the team without new voices cycling in.
The absence of Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy is glaring, but there have been plenty of times this offense has looked like it was more than one — or even two — players away. A lot of the hope for this season rests on Worthy and Rice creating better separation upon their return than their backups have managed, which would help open up the offense.
Obviously, a convincing win on Sunday against the Giants would quiet some anxious fans. But if the Chiefs drop a third straight to open the season, it will start to feel like this year is getting really late, really early.
@Jake_for_now asks (via X):
Harrison Butker has missed kicks in both games this season. His cap hit is $5.2 million, increasing to $7.3 million. At what point is the juice no longer worth the squeeze if the threat of a long-range, game-winning kick seems less certain?
Butker has $5.8 million in guaranteed salary for 2026, which means it would take a major drop-off in performance for the Chiefs to even consider a kicker change before 2027. Conversely, he’ll need to continue performing at a high level to justify playing out the final two (expensive) seasons of his contract. For 2027 and 2028 — his age-32 and age-33 seasons — there is no guaranteed money.
Having watched the NFL religiously since the early ’90s, I can remember when a 50-yard field goal attempt seemed overly aggressive — almost reckless. I never thought we’d reach the point where missing a 58-yarder would spark panic. If the Chiefs had beaten the Dolphins in Brazil, we’d probably still be talking about Butker nailing a 59-yard strike at the end of the first half with the clock running.
The missed extra point against the Chargers was frustrating, mostly because it forced the Chiefs into a two-possession deficit late in the game. Butker, however, has generally rewarded patience; his misses tend to be isolated flukes rather than ongoing issues. And at this point, we don’t have evidence that extra points are becoming a problem; it’s hard to draw that conclusion when the Chiefs aren’t consistently scoring touchdowns.
LocomotorKate asks:
Due to the quality and quantity of RB depth in the draft. Why did we not select someone earlier? RB is a weakness on this team.
Through two games, it’s fair to criticize how the Chiefs have built their running back room. Their highest-paid back in 2025, Elijah Mitchell, hasn’t dressed for either game. Clearly, the front office could have been more aggressive in adding talent at the position.
During this past offseason, no free-agent running back signed for more than $5.3 million per year. Meanwhile, 20 backs were drafted this past April before the Chiefs finally put Brashard Smith’s name on a card. Kansas City has now gone five consecutive drafts without selecting a running back in the first four rounds. Dating back to Andy Reid’s time in Philadelphia, his teams had never gone more than three drafts without doing so.
The Chiefs’ staff was likely encouraged by Isiah Pacheco’s medicals following last season’s broken fibula, and they seemed confident they’d benefit from a motivated player in a contract year. The plan appeared to be using Kareem Hunt as a third-down and short-yardage back, with Smith sprinkled in. Smith’s role will likely grow beyond the 13 offensive snaps he’s played through two games.
The running game, however, has been abysmal to start the year. Some of that may stem from the offensive line, which is only two weeks into a major overhaul, and from a passing game that hasn’t demanded much respect from defenses. The Chiefs probably don’t have a star back on the roster, but their existing players should find more room once Patrick Mahomes has more dependable weapons in the passing game. Until that improves, I’m not sure adding a more dynamic running back to an already struggling offense would make a major difference.
Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear asks:
Is the Chiefs’ front office likely to pursue trading for a defensive end before the deadline? The pass rush has been essentially non-existent aside from blitzing. There are likely to be several teams that may be sellers.
A major unknown at this point — one that could significantly affect this discussion — is the status of defensive end Mike Danna, who left Sunday’s game with a hip injury.
After investing two premium draft picks in Omarr Norman-Lott and Ashton Gillotte, Kansas City would certainly like the rookies to become part of the pass rush solution. Norman-Lott recorded a sack on Jalen Hurts on Sunday, and Gillotte played nearly half of the defensive snaps. How they perform moving forward will likely determine whether the Chiefs pursue external help. That said, impact defensive linemen are typically very expensive trade targets, and Kansas City currently faces a tight in-season financial picture with just an estimated $2.6 million in salary cap space.
The Chiefs traded for pass rusher Josh Uche at last season’s deadline, but he barely saw the field. They may be reluctant to repeat that mistake. As frustrating as it may be for fans, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo will always prioritize run defense with his front four, leaning on blitzes when necessary to rattle opposing quarterbacks.
Thank you for reading this week’s Arrowhead Pride Mailbag! Keep watching The Feed for a chance to ask your questions.
