Andy Reid has no issues bringing the band back together.
The Kansas City Chiefs coach is returning from a bye week and was pretty straight forward when asked why Kareem Hunt and JuJu Smith-Schuster were able to return to Arrowhead and pick up where they left off.
It was his knowing admission that bringing back these old names would be helpful to the offense, and specifically a struggling Travis Kelce.
“They kind of know how we operate,” Reid said during his media availability ahead of the Chiefs return against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
“They know the offense, they’re comfortable with it.
“Kareem had obviously been away for a while, but he was able to pick everything up quickly, and he and Pat [Mahomes] are very good friends.
“They stayed in touch throughout the years here. So he was welcome back in.
“You have that part of it — the comfort part — you’re welcome back in to get things rolling, and that opens up another avenue there for him psychologically.”
In the two games since Hunt retuned to Kansas City, he is averaging 85.5 yards a game and added a rushing touchdown against the New Orleans Saints to go along with it.
Smith-Schuster also broke out with seven catches for 130 yards against the Saints.
Reid credits the familiarity of both guys – who struggled for consistency after leaving Kansas City – having been in the system before, leading to early season success and how a possible trade for a wide receiver might fit and work right away.
“I think that helped JuJu and his situation coming back in and jumping in,” Reid said.
“It helped Mecole [Hardman] coming back (in 2023), but I’m not [saying] other guys can’t come in and help out. I don’t think that’s an issue.
“It’s just gonna take him a little bit longer to figure it out and get on the same page with Pat and all those things. It [won’t] be quite as good as what you’ve seen with these other guys that have been in it.”
Those ‘other guys’ have made the Chiefs offense slowly start to resemble the Kansas City offense we are used to seeing.
Which of course has benefited Patrick Mahomes, but even more so, it has benefited the Chiefs struggling star tight end, Kelce.
The charismatic tight end has played his best two games of the season in back to back weeks, accounting for a total of 16 catches for 159 yards.
In the previous three games combined, Kelce recorded eight catches for 69 yards.
The arrow is starting to point up at Arrowhead Stadium for number 87.
The fact that Kansas City remains perfect at 5-0 with Kelce off to the worst start to a season in his career, doesn’t bode well for the rest of the league.
Hollywood Brown, Isiah Pacheco and most recently Rashee Rice have all been hit by injuries that will keep them out for most of, if not all, of the season – so the ‘new’ old boys and Kelce have to step up.
Thankfully for Chiefs fans, the early signs are good.
As Smith-Schuster and Hunt become more and more engaged and comfortable in an offense they are already familiar with, everything is going to start to open up for Kelce.
Not to mention it is still a possibility that they trade for a wide receiver before the deadline.
A familiar face may would not be a surprise.
