Kansas City Chiefs Safety Justin Reid Thanks Doubters for Motivation, Appreciates Championship Hype
It’s been a common sentiment to say that the 13-1 Kansas City Chiefs shouldn’t be where their record is, but for safety Justin Reid, it’s fuel for the fire. The back-to-back champions have won multiple games on their last possession, and the ball has bounced their way, literally and figuratively. Reid is grateful for the doubters, saying, “Thanks for the motivation. We appreciate the motivation that people give us… I like the extra motivation. It gets me fired up, and it gets me to go out there to prove a point. They don’t ever have to learn. We’ll just keep showing up.”
Reid has won two Super Bowls with the Chiefs, and this year, he also took home Chess.com’s BlitzChamps title. He discovered his passion for chess while in the NFL and now plays with teammates in the locker room before each game. The tradition has become a staple, with Reid saying, “You can’t always be too deep in anything. It’s nice to get your mind off one subject and do something else. I think it’s fun for that and it has become a bit of a tradition that we just always do that now.”
Reid’s chess title led to an opportunity to raise money for his charity, and NFL Films is set to release a documentary about his chess title and the involvement of other NFL stars. The safety believes the game is a great way for people to connect, saying, “It’s a way of using tactics and being three steps ahead of your opponent. It’s fun they’re promoting it. I think that it’s good, and I think it’s a fun game for anyone to play.”
As the Chiefs face his former team, the Houston Texans, on Saturday, Reid knows what it takes to bring home another Lombardi Trophy, saying, “You want to be playing your best football going into the playoffs, and we don’t feel like we’ve played our best football yet, which is great. There’s still ways to build, still things to do to keep getting better. It’s just about not being satisfied and the preparation each week.”
