Kansas City Chiefs fans are used to seeing key players come and go. One of the latest key departures for the team is Justin Reid, who signed with the New Orleans Saints in free agency. This is certainly a hit to the Chiefs’ secondary considering the experience Reid brought to the unit.

Trent McDuffie, another key contributor in the Chiefs’ secondary, recently spoke to the media and talked about what the loss of Reid means for K.C. moving forward.

“You know, he’s a great player. He’s one of those vets that knew the defense really well. We all had a lot of trust in him, and you can see on the field, like, he was one of those dudes that we really relied on. So losing him always is a big factor, but the guys that we have right now, you know, Chamarri Conner, Jaden Hicks, Bryan Cook… I mean, we got Mike Edwards back. All guys who know the defense really well. All guys who have played a long time, and all guys that I know, when they’re around the back end with me, I trust them fully,” McDuffie said. “So it’s always a shame as part of the game when guys leave, but I know these new guys, and some guys who’ve already been around here are ready to step into that role.”

McDuffie shares heartfelt reaction to losing Reid from Chiefs defense

It’s not a surprise to hear McDuffie speak so highly of Reid. After all, both arrived in Kansas City in 2022 and played together for the past three years so it probably will be weird for McDuffie to enter his first season without Reid by his side in the secondary.

McDuffie pointed out that while, yes, it’s unfortunate to lose Reid due to how much the rest of the team relied on him, there’s no reason to panic. The Chiefs still have solid depth in their secondary and the draft is another outlet for them to try and build on it even more.

Reid followed Tyrann Mathieu’s career trajectory, playing with the Texans for a bit, then coming to Kansas City for three years, helping them win at least one Super Bowl, and then peacing out for New Orleans when his contract was up. Reid is a Louisiana guy so seeing him sign with the Saints wasn’t a shock but it was still disappointing to see him move on.

The Chiefs will definitely have some big shoes to fill come draft time. Hopefully they can find a beast to help replace Reid’s production.