It’s official.
Rookie first-rounder Patrick Mahomes will start for the Chiefs against the Broncos this Sunday in Denver. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid announced the move during his usual Wednesday press conference.
“Every snap that he gets is a valuable snap for him whenever he has that chance of getting in there,” Reid said. “It’s invaluable and fortunately, we’re in a situation we can do that.”
The Chiefs are locked into the No. 4 seed on the AFC side of the postseason regardless of Sunday’s game outcome.
Reid added that Alex Smith will take the scout team reps this week.
“Fortunately we have a quarterback that understands it,” Reid said. “[Smith] is having a phenomenal year. It’s an MVP-caliber year, so he understands the situation and this won’t detour off of anything he’s doing the remainder of the season.”
Though Mahomes has yet to play, Reid said the season has given him an opportunity to get to know him, and Reid confirmed Wednesday all the scouting reports checked out.
“You hear what he’s all about but until the player is there, you really don’t know, I’m saying as a person,” he said. “He’s everything everybody said he was, a great person—works hard, loves playing—all those things, we’ve seen. Obviously, he hasn’t played in the game other than the preseason, but he’s done a great job of the other stuff.”
That changes Sunday.