By ROSS MARTIN
Associated Press
(ST. JOSEPH, Mo., AP) — Fans will have to wait at least a day to see the Kansas City Chiefs’ new presumptive backup quarterback.
Rain forced the team into the indoor facility on the campus of Missouri Western State University for practice Friday, which took place hours after Nick Foles signed a one-year contract with an option for a second year. The move reunites him with coach Andy Reid, who drafted him out of Arizona in 2012 while with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Foles adds experience behind starter Alex Smith and brings a familiarity with Reid’s system. After the Los Angeles Rams granted his release, Foles said, he contacted Reid and indicated he was the only coach he wanted to play for this season.
Reid said after practice that the team remains Smith’s, and Foles said he didn’t receive any guarantee of being the No. 2 behind the 12-year veteran.
“I don’t need any guarantees,” Foles said. “He knows that I’m coming here to work and just be a part of the team. I’m not coming here to try and do anything except be a great teammate to these guys, help Alex in any way and obviously, you always have to be ready to play because we’re here to play.”
Foles eschewed other potential offers that could have given him a better chance to compete for a starting job right away.
After a sub-par season in 2015 with the Rams, Foles sees Kansas City as a place where he can re-evaluate where he is in his career. The Eagles were 15-9 in his 24 starts spread across three years, while the Rams were 4-7 last season after he went to St. Louis in a quarterback swap that offered him and former No. 1 pick Sam Bradford a change of scenery.
Foles ended up seeking another change of scenery after just one year with the Rams, who chose quarterback Jared Goff with the first pick in the NFL draft. Some were not surprised he landed with the Chiefs and Reid.
“You know why it didn’t? I think it goes to show the type of respect that people who play for coach Reid have for him and the kind of faith they have in him,” said Chiefs wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, who caught 78 passes and 10 touchdowns from Foles with the Eagles in 2012 and 2014. “Any time ‘Big Red’ wants you to be a part of what he has going on, that’s an honor, so it didn’t really surprise me this would be the spot he picked.”
Foles started six games in 2012 with the Eagles with limited results in what turned out to be Reid’s final season in Philadelphia.
In 2013, Foles flourished after taking over the starting job from Michael Vick and threw 27 touchdowns and two interceptions in 10 starts under Chip Kelly and his innovative pass offense, which included an NFL record-tying seven-touchdown performance against the Raiders. That season ended with a trip to the Pro Bowl and seemingly cemented Foles as a star.
Instead, the Eagles went 6-2 in his eight starts in 2014 despite limited success (13 touchdowns, 10 interceptions) before a season-ending injury ultimately spelled the end of Foles’ tenure with Philadelphia. He started 11 games last year with the Rams — his worst season as a pro.
“I think he got out of me more than I ever thought possible,” Foles said of Reid. “He pushed me — every throw, everything I did — to just be aggressive and really, really helped me to be the player the next year (in 2013) and just continued to grow. It hasn’t always been smooth; it hasn’t always been like those first two years.”
At practice, Foles split repetitions with Tyler Bray, who signed with the Chiefs as an undrafted rookie in 2013 and has worked as Smith’s backup throughout the start of camp. Bray has never thrown a pass in a regular-season game, and neither have 2014 fifth-round draft pick Aaron Murray and 2016 fifth-round draft pick Kevin Hogan.
Reid cited Foles’ experience as a reason to bring him into an already crowded situation behind Smith. The Chiefs cut defensive tackle Alameda Ta’amu to make room on the roster for the new quarterback.
“Nick’s familiar, obviously, with the system,” Reid said. “He’s a good football player. He was good for me as a rookie and Chip that first year there. I think he’s a good fit, and you can’t have enough of those guys. It’s a tough position, and you want to make sure that you’re fully loaded there. I think we’re fully loaded.”
Foles hit tight end James O’Shaughnessy on his first pass during a drill at the indoor practice. He received limited opportunities to throw in his first workout with Kansas City and did not participate in the Chiefs’ first live-tackling segment of training camp.
Reid said the Chiefs would continue to work on ways to split up repetitions and didn’t have an answer for how long they would hold on to all five guys.
“We’ll see. Maybe I’ll start my own hamburger stand,” the veteran coach joked.
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