How Matt Moore ended up coming (back) to Kansas City

The Kansas City Chiefs officially signed veteran quarterback Matt Moore on Tuesday, grabbing a veteran backup for Patrick Mahomes.

The move came after quarterback Chad Henne suffered a fractured ankle in the 27-17 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, and it seems to make a ton sense for both parties. The move makes so much sense, in fact, that the Chiefs nearly signed Moore back before the 2018 season but ultimately decided to go with Henne.

This made signing Moore an easy decision according to Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, who spoke about the former Miami quarterback after practice on Tuesday.

“When we made the final decision with Chad, he was the other guy, so it was kind of a no-brainer,” he said of the team’s original decision to sign Henne over Moore.

“To me it was a toss-up. I like both the guys, so that’s what made this so easy. I would’ve taken either guy.”

Moore seems like a capable quarterback on paper, sporting a 15-15 regular-season record as a starter with 45 touchdowns and 36 interceptions. Despite his respectable numbers, Moore ended up sitting out the 2018 season after not signing with Kansas City, partially by choice and partially by circumstance, according to Moore.

He spent the offseason as a quarterbacks coach at Hart High, his alma mater, in Santa Clarita, California, when he got the call from Reid.

“I was out, running around with the kids and it was good,” Moore said. “Coach Reid gave me the call and I’m excited to be here.”

Moore hasn’t played in an NFL game since the 2017 season, so it’s no surprise that he was questioning whether or not he’d ever play again.

“I didn’t know... after sitting out last year, it was great, but this year’s training camp rolled around, the juices started flowing a little bit, (but) I didn’t really expect the call,” Moore said. “I mean sure, there are some thoughts that this may never happen, and the when it happens you’re like, ‘Hey, let’s go.’ It’s kind of that simple.”

Moore won’t be playing in the game against the Packers on Thursday, so that gives him a bit more time to learn the Chiefs’ dynamic offense should he have to take the field again. Moore recognized that there might be “a learning curve” when it comes to picking up the offense, but Reid is confident the 11-year veteran will catch up quickly.

“He’s a pretty sharp guy, he’s got a pretty good idea,” Reid said of Moore. “Mike (Kafka) met with him last night and then this morning. He’s done it for a while, so (he’s) just catching up. He’ll be able to handle it.”