Getty Images Andy Reid.
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is clearing the air regarding why he emerged for the final day of OTAs with an interesting accessory: a cane.
FOX4’s Harold Kuntz posted footage of Reid using the cane while conversing with quarterback Patrick Mahomes and other players during Thursday’s training session.
May need an injury report from Andy Reid on Andy Reid. Hoping Big Red is okay! #Chiefs
During his time on the podium following practice, Big Red explained to reporters that he merely uses it get around, actually attributing it the pains of getting older.
“I’m good. I hit 60 and things started aching, but I’m good,” the 63-year-old said.
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If the walking stick is purely there for assistance and nothing further, we have no choice but to take Reid’s word for it.
Reid Did Knee Undergo Surgery in 2016
While it’s unclear if Reid had some sort of operation within the last couple months, we can confirm the Los Angeles native did have a right knee replacement procedure five years ago. According to a 2016 article by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, it was the result of an infection. It also caused him to miss that year’s NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis.
Andy Reid is still moving around with the aid of a walker after having knee replacement… t.co/GwmUURpCMw
“It’s kind of a freak thing,’’ he explained at the time. “It had been bothering me since training camp, [swelling] up a little bit. They were working on it with antibiotics. I kind of knew once we got to the end of the season we would have to go in and get it taken care of.’
“Right now I’ve just got a plate in there. They’ll keep that in for another five to six weeks and then we’ll go ahead and put a new knee back in, a new prosthetic, and then we’ll start the rehab from there.”
Big Red the Recipient of a Pretty Big Reward
Ongoing knee pains or not, that won’t keep Reid from cleaning up on the awards circuit. Continuing their series of rankings ahead of the 2021 season, on Tuesday analytics site Pro Football Focus (PFF) named Reid the best head coach out of all 32 franchises.
Here’s a portion they had to say about the veteran manager:
Prior to Super Bowl 54 in 2019, I wrote about how Andy Reid was the best head coach in football. Since then, he went on to win his first title, navigated a pandemic offseason, helped his team to a 14-2 record during the 2020 regular season, won a playoff game with his backup quarterback playing the second half and reached the third Super Bowl of his career. Andy Reid’s Chiefs have never gone under their market season win total, and they are again the Super Bowl favorites going into the 2021 regular season. Reid is now the standard by which the rest of the league is evaluated.
Reid also earned high rankings on a separate list from PFF. This time, he was named the third (only behind Matt LaFleur of the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills’ Brian Daboll) best offensive play-caller in the league.
Regardless of how serious his current injury is, we wish Coach Reid the speediest of recoveries.
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