‘We felt comfortable bringing him up,’ Andy Reid says of rookie QB Kyle Shurmur
For as long as he can remember, Kansas City Chiefs rookie quarterback Kyle Shurmur has been around coach Andy Reid.
Shurmur’s father, New York Giants coach Pat Shurmur, served on Reid’s coaching staff with the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999 to 2008. And the the signal-caller has fond memories of being a ball boy during training camp.
But the 22-year-old Shurmur won’t be able to draw from those experiences to help prepare him for a likely role as Matt Moore’s primary backup ahead of Sunday night’s game against the Green Bay Packers.
“That was when I was a lot younger, so I can’t really pull too much,” Shurmur said Thursday. “I was just a kid, but I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for Coach Reid. Obviously, he’s an amazing coach. That speaks for itself.”
The Chiefs elevated Shurmur from the practice squad to the active 53-player roster earlier in the week to bolster their quarterback group in the wake of Patrick Mahomes’ knee injury.
The Chiefs could have elected to bring in a veteran signal-caller, considering the uncertainty surrounding Mahomes’ recovery timetable.
Their decision to stay in-house had a lot to do with what the Chiefs have seen out of Shurmur, who originally joined the team in April as an undrafted free agent following an accomplished collegiate career at Vanderbilt.
“I thought he had a good training camp,” Reid said Wednesday of Shurmur. “Well enough to make the team. He did. Then, he works like crazy at practice.
“Now, the one thing that we don’t have is NFL reps during a game, but what he showed us is that he is a good young quarterback that has a future. We felt comfortable bringing him up.”
Shurmur said he has grown on the practice squad since the regular season began, pointing out that he had valuable repetitions working with the scout team against the Chiefs’ starting defense while refining his mechanics and absorbing Reid’s playbook.
While the Chiefs have yet to rule out Mahomes for Sunday night’s game, Shurmur embraces the opportunity to be ready for any responsibility assigned to him.
“We have the next-man-up mentality,” Shurmur said. “So, unfortunately, what happened to Pat, happened. But at the same time, it’s next man up.
“I’m just going to try and help Matt do everything, so he can help us win a game, and then be ready, God forbid anything happens.”
