It's an anecdotal observation, but it seems like Andy Reid-coached teams will go back to young players after they make mistakes. Whether it's a confidence statement, a coaching point or something else, it usually takes multiple mishaps before a rookie or inexperienced contributor gets put in the proverbial Kansas City Chiefs doghouse.
Undrafted free agent fullback Carson Steele might be at or near that point, though. Despite head coach Andy Reid saying he's "not down" on the UCLA product, a fumble against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 4 resulted in the rookie getting just one additional carry the rest of the way. Kareem Hunt received a heavy workload in Steele's absence, making the most of it with a statement performance.
Kansas City got the win, which is what matters the most for both player and team. Speaking to the media this week, Steele confirmed that while he needs to be better, he's also glad he didn't cost the entire group a victory.
“Being a rookie, you've got to fix some mistakes to get [to] where I want to be, but another goal is just to go 1-0 throughout the week,” Steele said. “That’s kind of, like, our big motto here, kind of not thinking about down the line. Just got to keep going 1-0 and go from there.”
Steele says the Chiefs' veteran leaders are helping keep his head up as he works through fixing his ball security issues.
"Honestly, a lot of them just try to help me process everything," Steele said. "They were all rookies once, so they already know how I'm feeling. Kind of all over the place. But the calmer you feel with this game, the better you're going to have in the outcome. I've just got to calm down and execute my assignments."
Four games and 28 carries into the season, Steele has fumbled the football twice already. That's a huge red flag, as evidenced by his league-worst Pro Football Focus fumble grade of 21.7 among all backs with 20 or more attempts. Steele didn't fumble a single time during his final season in college, but he had five combined in the 2021 and 2022 campaigns when he was at Ball State.
It remains to be seen what Steele's role will be long-term, especially now that Clyde Edwards-Helaire is attempting to return from the non-football illness list. The rookie has always been more of a traditional fullback since joining the Chiefs, but does it make sense to make an addition without a subtraction? There's room for everyone to coexist, at least until Isiah Pacheco returns later this season.
Hunt projects as running back No. 1 for the time being, but Kansas City won't completely shy away from Steele. Right guard Trey Smith, like his other teammates, fully supports the UDFA in bouncing back.
"Man, we all make mistakes," Smith said. "We're pros [but] at the end of the day, we're all human beings, we're fallible. At the end of the day, you can't look back on a mistake you've made, you just have to keep playing the game. When I was a rookie, I had that habit too. Bad play comes up, and you dwell on it. You have no time to dwell in this league because [if] you start thinking about a bad play you just had, and now you lose focus on what's at hand. Just tell him to shake it off, and he's going to be absolutely fine. He's coming out with a worker's mentality and he's stepping right back up."
