“It’s not always about getting the most money. It’s about going out there and winning and having a legacy that you can kind of live with forever. For me, that’s what I want.” – Patrick Mahomes to Peter King
“Is Trey [Lance] ready to take it on his shoulders? He shouldn’t be. He hasn’t gone through it enough. I believe in him as a man, as a person. I believe in his talent.” – 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan to King on first-year starting QB Trey Lance
“He brings that buzz of energy we’ve really needed. People who were here when Peyton [Manning] played say it’s the same kind of feeling.” – Broncos WR Courtland Sutton to King on Russell Wilson’s impact on the franchise
“It’s like walking into your house on Thanksgiving and the table’s set and the food’s ready. All I’ve got to do is carve the turkey.” – Saints head coach Dennis Allen on succeeding Sean Payton
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STAMFORD, Conn. – August 15, 2022 – Peter King speaks with Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson, and San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan as he continues his 2022 NFL Training Camp Tour in this week’s edition of Football Morning in America, available now exclusively on NBCSports.com. King also visits with the Saints, Texans, and Buccaneers, discusses the Deshaun Watson suspension, Tom Brady leaving Buccaneers training camp, and more.
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The following are highlights from this week’s edition of Football Morning in America:
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Peter King on the Chiefs’ new-look offense: “The post-Tyreek Hill offense is utterly unpredictable.”
King: “I think this team is energized by the outside impression of, They’re screwed without Tyreek…My gut feeling is [head coach] Andy Reid and [Patrick] Mahomes will figure it out without Hill.”
Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster to King on his first training camp with Kansas City: “This is what I’ve been waiting to do. Everyone has to know everybody’s position…That’s what I’ve been wanting to do, to be used in so many different ways. It’s so great, the way Coach Reid gives Patrick Mahomes so many different options on every play.”
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid to King on the Tyreek Hill trade: “It’s a win-win. I think it’ll help him in his career with the Dolphins. Financially it’s phenomenal for him and his family…For us, it gives you a little juice that maybe you need when you’ve been someplace for 10 years.”
Mahomes to King on Kansas City’s plan to build, post-Tyreek Hill: “They showed me the reasons that this had to be done at this time. I obviously talked to Tyreek as well, tried to do whatever I could to bring him back. Once we kind of got past that bridge and he was going somewhere else, they had a great game plan of getting these receivers that we have out here now.”
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes to King on being a leader for the new wide receivers: “I can’t just focus on my job anymore. I’ve got to focus on every single person, every single detail. I think it’ll make me a better quarterback.”
Mahomes to King on people criticizing the 10-year contract he signed in 2020: “If you’re ticked off making all the money that I’m making, you’re probably a little bit messed up…It’s not always about getting the most money. It’s about going out there and winning and having a legacy that you can kind of live with forever. For me, that’s what I want.”
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
King on 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo’s current status with the team: “I heard he does not have a playbook, does not attend quarterback or team meetings and barely knows new quarterbacks coach Brian Griese.”
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan to King on new starting quarterback Trey Lance: “Is Trey ready to take it on his shoulders? He shouldn’t be. He hasn’t gone through it enough. I believe in him as a man, as a person. I believe in his talent.”
Shanahan: “I don’t think he is going to make or break our season, just like in 2019 and last year, I didn’t think Jimmy [Garoppolo] was going to make or break our season. But what sucks is when you’re learning how to play and you’re not there yet, how do you not get worse sometimes when that pressure’s on you and you need to go through the growing pains?”
49ers QB Trey Lance to King on what has changed for him in his second year in the NFL: “Mentally, I feel like things are a lot more clear for me. I understand the offense, and I’m able to play fast.”
Shanahan to King on his philosophy towards preseason games: “We can say we had a good game because we won, but that’s not really what we’re focused on here in the preseason. We’re focused on the product and how you did it… Stats don’t dictate success. Doing it the right way dictates success.”
King on the 49ers’ prospects for the 2022 season: “This team is [Trey] Lance’s now. And I would advise patience for Niners fans. It’s absurd to expect a savior to show up at Soldier Field in the Sept. 12 opener. [Kyle] Shanahan will be ready to take some pain in 2022.”
DENVER BRONCOS
Broncos QB Russell Wilson to King on the new structure of the team: “It’s the ownership of the players owning our own offense. This has to be a player-ran kind of team. Coach [Nathaniel] Hackett gives us the keys to do that.”
Broncos GM George Paton to King on Wilson’s work ethic: “He’s a machine. You don’t really understand it until you see his car here at 5:30 in the morning and then see him roaming the halls at 9 at night.”
Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett to King on teaching Wilson the West Coast Offense: “I don’t want him to be touched. I don’t want him to have to run around. Now sometimes, you have to, but those ones I can’t control. The more that he feels that and understands that, the better it’s going to be.”
Broncos WR Courtland Sutton to King on Wilson’s impact on the franchise: “He brings that buzz of energy we’ve really needed. People who were here when Peyton [Manning] played say it’s the same kind of feeling.”
Sutton: “I really feel like when you talk football with him it’s like he’s playing the game — playing the game in his mind…He wants us to master the little details the same way he has. All those little details, they hit for him because he sees the game in a different light than other people.”
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
New Saints head coach Dennis Allen to King on the transition from Sean Payton: “People ask me what I’m doing differently. Not a lot. This team was in great condition when I took over. It’s like walking into your house on Thanksgiving and the table’s set and the food’s ready. All I’ve got to do is carve the turkey.”
King on the Saints’ improved wide receiver group: “The receiver group was New Orleans’ weakness last year. Now it might be the strength of the team. Imagine an opening day threesome of Michael Thomas and rookie Chris Olave outside and sage vet Jarvis Landry in the slot with Tre’Quan Smith and Marquez Callaway playing significant snaps.”
Allen on WR Michael Thomas’ return from two injury-plagued seasons: “The last few days in practice we saw the Michael Thomas of before the injuries. We think he’ll be ready.”
HOUSTON TEXANS
King on the Texans’ future coaching plans: “There’s still a buzz of [former Texans QB] Josh McCown coaching here at some point hanging over the franchise, but for now [Lovie] Smith is GM Nick Caserio’s kind of coach with a team that has a long way to go.”
King on the Texans’ future QB plans: “The Texans have five picks in the first three rounds next year. Everyone, including [current QB] Davis Mills, knows the Texans will be scouting Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud and Alabama’s Bryce Young hard this fall.”
King on the Texans’ feelings towards former QB Deshaun Watson: “They’re just relieved he’s not here to compromise a second straight season.”
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
King on Tom Brady taking off 10 days for a personal matter: “Brady has so much currency in the bank with coaches and teams regarding dedication to the job and devotion to his craft that when he comes to the Bucs and says he needs 10 days away, my response would be: ‘Take more if you need it.’”
Buccaneers quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen to King on Tom Brady: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him throw the football better. It’s remarkable — 45 years old and the ball comes off his hand with such zip, throw after throw. How does that happen with someone who’s 45? It’s like a lot of things about him. It defies common sense. This just hasn’t happened before.”
King on Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles: “The ease and cool of Bowles in his return shot at being a head coach. He’s got no fear in his second full-time around. A coach needs to exude an I-belong-here vibe, and that’s Bowles.”
NEWS & NOTES
King on Browns QB Deshaun Watson’s public apology: “I think it’s good to see Watson taking responsibility, finally. And it’s probably a case of being lawyered up for a long time, but the first thing Watson has to address if he’s really coming clean is to explain why he said for months he never did anything wrong. If he truly felt that way, what switch was flipped, and when, and why?”
King on the Cowboys’ continued penalties problem: “Only one thing in the preseason meant anything much this weekend: 17 penalties by the Cowboys. That has to stop, and it has to stop now. Ridiculous.”
Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt on Guardian Caps: “I don’t know if they’re going to do any good. But they can’t hurt. Anything I can do to have a chance to play longer and do less damage [to the brain], I’m in favor of.”
Read the full FMIA column here and catch the weekly Peter King Podcast here.
The following are additional highlights of NBC Sports’ NFL coverage:
- PFT Live with NBC Sports’ Mike Florio (Mondays) and Florio and Chris Simms (Tuesday-Thursday) streams on Peacock from 7 a.m. – 9 a.m. ET on weekdays & is available on-demand. The Dan Patrick Show streams at 9 a.m. ET, The Rich Eisen Show at Noon ET, Brother From Another at 3 p.m. ET, PFT PM at 5 p.m. ET. At 6 p.m. ET, Chris Simms Unbuttoned streams Tuesday-Friday.
- ProFootballTalk.com continues to provide the latest news and updates.
- NBC Sports EDGE’s A Good Football Show continues the NFL discussion and Bet The Edge Podcast provides daily betting insights.
- The NFL on NBC YouTube channel offers daily football content for free, with exclusive videos from Peter King – including his interviews with players and coaches at training camps – Mike Florio, Chris Simms, and more. To access all of these videos and more, click here to subscribe
A new “Football Morning in America” posts every Monday morning exclusively on NBCSports.com through the NFL season. It was announced in May 2019 that King signed an exclusive agreement with NBC Sports Group that included writing a weekly Monday morning NFL column for NBCSports.com; making regular appearances on PFT Live with Mike Florio; and continuing to contribute to Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports.
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