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Arrowheadlines: Andy Reid will get the most out of his backup QB

Chiefs headlines for Wednesday, October 23

San Diego Chargers v Kansas City Chiefs Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images

The latest

Backup quarterback play under Chiefs’ Andy Reid amounts to brief and successful spurts | Kansas City Star

2014: Daniel again got the call in a season finale, but this time Smith was unable to play because he was nursing a lacerated spleen. No playoffs for the Chiefs that year, but they won 19-7 as Daniel completed 16 of 27 passes for 157 yards. Tight end Travis Kelce was Daniel’s top target with seven receptions.

Packers: Don’t write off the Chiefs, even without Patrick Mahomes | Lombardi Avenue

Now, with a full week to prepare for Moore, the Packers will be far more confident on defense than if Mahomes had been available. That much is obvious. But it’s not just Mahomes that makes the Chiefs’ offense so great. They have the best tight end in football, a great wide receiver corps and a strong ground game.

Last week, Raiders tight end Darren Waller had seven catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns against the Packers. In Week 4, Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert combined for 81 yards and a touchdown.

Defending Travis Kelce won’t be easy, no matter who is at quarterback. Kelce is currently 10th in the NFL for receiving yards and first among tight ends.

Patrick Mahomes’ knee injury sucks for not only the Chiefs, but all NFL fans | SB Nation

No quarterback in the league can replace what Mahomes does

Mahomes’ big arm and penchant for highlight-reel plays made him a perfect fit in Reid’s freewheeling offense. Surrounded by lightning-quick wideouts and a do-everything tight end, the 2017 first-round pick was a revelation in his first season as a starter last fall.

Mahomes’ ability to scramble out of trouble and improvise put him on a God Tier among NFL quarterbacks in just one full year behind center. He could extend plays long enough for his receiving help to find gaps, then launch pinpoint rifle shots downfield as though he were standing still. He’d fake out defenses with no-look passes. He could convert third downs with his left, non-dominant hand.

Patrick Peterson trade rumors: Landing spots, projected cost for Cardinals cornerback at NFL deadline | CBS Sports

Where could he end up?

Kansas City Chiefs: K.C. has been sniffing around the secondary market for a long time, and while the Chiefs reportedly backed away from the pursuit of Peterson earlier this season, we’re pretty sure they’d reconsider if the Cardinals were to keep their lines open for business. Even though their defense looked strong against the Denver Broncos recently, this is a team that knows it must get better at the back end if it truly wants to compete with the New England Patriots for a Super Bowl.

Chiefs Present the Ronald McDonald House with Record Proceeds from Red Friday Flag Sales | The Mothership

“I think that we sometimes hold up athletes for what they do on the field, but for us at Ronald McDonald House Charities, the Chiefs are heroes because of what they’re doing off the field,” Greenberg said. “It’s about how they’re supporting this organization, supporting families with sick kids and for all of the things happening in Kansas City.”

Week 8 Fantasy Football Injury Report | SI.com

Might be a while before we see them again

Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs, knee

The Chiefs’ quarterback is expected to miss a minimum of three games, according to various reports, some more optimistic than others. Fact is, Mahomes won’t play in Week 8 but is eyeing a return to action before the team’s bye in Week 12. I discussed Mahomes’s injury and the major impact it has on all Chiefs playmakers in this article.

Around the league

Assistant Coach of the Year? Robert Saleh tops competitive field | NFL.com

3) Mike Pettine, defensive coordinator, Green Bay Packers: Pettine is another example of the coordinator role serving as a proven comeback trail for former head coaches who tumbled out of sight. I interviewed Pettine in 2016, when he was jobless and wondering about his future after a failed head-coaching stint with the Browns. Instead of grabbing any role he could, Pettine took the equivalent of a sabbatical year to reconnect with family, build a log cabin from scratch in the Ohio wilds (for real) and watch the NFL from a distance.

”There’s kind of that fear of the unknown of, ‘Wow, if I step away from football for a year, is that going to hurt my chances to get back in?’ ” Pettine acknowledged at the time.

That exodus, though, also provided a “30,000-foot view of the league,” with Pettine saying he was “exposed to more ideas and what’s working and what’s not working. And you also get a better sense of the personnel around the league.”

Patriots acquire WR Mohamed Sanu from Falcons | ESPN

The New England Patriots have acquired veteran wide receiver Mohamed Sanu from the Atlanta Falcons for a second-round draft pick, league sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Sanu gives the Patriots an inside target, especially on third down, to help take pressure off top receiver Julian Edelman. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Sanu, 30, is in his eighth season and has 33 receptions for 313 yards and one touchdown in 2019.

Emmanuel Sanders has been traded to the San Francisco 49ers | Mile High Report (Denver Broncos SB Nation site)

It has happened. Emmanuel Sanders is no longer a member of the Denver Broncos. According to Mike Klis of 9News, Sanders along with a fifth round pick has been traded to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a third and fourth round pick.

The trade also helps free up an additional $5.97 million in cap space for Denver, according to Ryan O’Halloran of The Denver Post.

It would appear to be fairly good value here. Sanders contract was up anyway at the end of this season and John Elway was able to bring in an extra third and fourth rounder for the 2020 NFL Draft in exchange for Sanders and a fifth rounder.

This gives the Broncos a third pick in round three. They are definitely stockpiling those early picks. Denver now has picks in the first two rounds, three in the third, and two in the fourth. Who knows if they are done yet, but that is a good start for a team that needs to build its roster from the ground up.

Lions trading safety Quandre Diggs to Seahawks | NFL.com

The Lions are trading starting safety Quandre Diggs and a 2021 seventh-round pick to Seattle in exchange for a 2020 fifth-round pick, sources told NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero on Tuesday. Detriot later confirmed the swap.

A fifth-year veteran with three years left on a new deal in Detroit signed just one season ago, Diggs had started five of six games this season for the Lions. The safety missed their Week 6 loss to the Green Bay Packers with a hamstring injury. He played 55 snaps in his return Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.

In case you missed it at Arrowhead Pride

Let’s Argue: “The quarterback sneak wasn’t a bad call”

Initially, the idea of running a quarterback sneak with your franchise quarterback while he’s suffering from a lower-body injury doesn’t seem all that appealing. For a moment — when Patrick Mahomes had to leave the game on Thursday night — it even looked like Andy Reid’s decision to run the play cost the Chiefs a Super Bowl-contending season.

But all things considered, I agree with this take and Reid’s decision. In fact, I hope the Chiefs continue to run quarterback sneaks in those kinds of situations. It was fourth-and-1 in a division game where the Chiefs were only up by one score. The Chiefs needed a win in order to get some sort of momentum on their way to hosting the Green Bay Packers at Arrowhead. Getting a touchdown on that drive would have helped them do that.

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