Sean Smith says Chiefs have younger players who deserve first-team opportunities, too

Earlier we heard Andy Reid address Sean Smith on the second team. Now we hear from Sean Smith himself.

610 Sports Danny Parkins has a good interview with Smith, which you can listen to here (about 26:45 in). You should give the entire interview a listen, especially the ending. Chiefs PR had to step in and ... just listen to it. There's never a lack of entertainment.

Smith has a very team-first attitude about it all. He said that this is a chance for some younger guys (Ron Parker, Phillip Gaines) to play with the first team. Danny predicted this afternoon that Smith would be back on the first team early in the season. It wouldn't surprise me ... but Parker has been taking the first team snaps for a while now. Longer than I thought he would.

A few quotes from the interview...

It seems like a lot of you guys are close on the depth chart. Is that how you read it?

Smith: We have great competition out there. We have amazing athletes and we have guys who know what they're doing. I think the biggest things for us we didn't really bring in too many new pieces. We had guys who were 2s and 3s last year coming out, stepping up and making plays out there. It's having that camaraderie and going out and competing is going to make us all better.

What is your role on the defense right now?

Smith: My role is to go out there and make plays and get better every day. Being a vet on this defense, I have a chance to coach up some young guys and make sure they know what they're doing right now. Every day I take the same approach, try to get better every day and see if I can help someone else out.

Do you look at it as a matter of time before you're back with the first team?

Smith: Not at all. I take my situation one day at a time. I go out there. I don't worry about the depth chart, how many reps I take. I just compete and make plays when my time comes.

Did they give you a reason for putting you on the second team?

Smith: No reason was needed on my behalf. I can't control all that. I'm definitely not a coach. I just go out there and play. We definitely have some young guys who deserve to get opportunities with the 1s to see what it feels like to play with an Eric Berry or a Derrick Johnson. One thing about communication, it's one thing to work with the 2s and 3s but until you're out there with that first team and the bullets are going live the communication is a little bit different. It's definitely a great opportunity for some of the other guys to see what it feels like to be playing with those vets, matching their intensity and flying around with them.