KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Defensive end Terrell Suggs said he didn't need the hard sell from coach Andy Reid or other team officials after being claimed off waivers by the Kansas City Chiefs this week.
"I was really uncertain about my future last week, but I talked to Coach and it was a brief conversation and I was like, 'OK,''' Suggs said Wednesday as he joined the Chiefs for his first practice session. "I asked Coach, 'I just learned the hard way that a player like me just [doesn't] fit in anywhere.' He was like, 'Trust me, you'll fit in here.'
"It's hard to turn down [playing with] the reigning MVP [Patrick Mahomes] and a playoff team and just the exciting things they're doing, this atmosphere.''
The Chiefs recently lost defensive ends Emmanuel Ogbah and Alex Okafor for the season with injuries, so the timing was perfect for them late last week when the Arizona Cardinals placed Suggs, a seven-time Pro Bowler, on waivers.
"You've got to make sure he can still play,'' Reid said. "That's important. And then, how do they fit in your locker room? We've got a good locker room and a strong locker room. We have some very good leaders in this team, so how do they fit into that? You don't want to bring somebody in that's going to disrupt things. That's not where we're at right now.''
To that end, general manager Brett Veach approached defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who helped coached Suggs as an assistant with the Baltimore Ravens in 2013 and 2014.
"Steve goes, 'The guy loves football, he's a great teammate,''' Reid said. "That's all Brett needed to hear. The rest was Brett making it happen.''
Reid also said that Suggs didn't need much convincing to report to the Chiefs.
"He's not familiar with this, so did I tell him about what's going on here and did he want to hear it?'' Reid said. "Sure. He wanted to know what was going on. He's a thorough guy. But did I have to put the hammer down on him or anything? No. He had some questions, which guys do when they've been around. I think he liked what he heard. It wasn't a recruiting-type situation.''
The Chiefs have Suggs, 37, listed on this week's depth chart as the top reserve at left defensive end behind Tanoh Kpassagnon.
"Hopefully I can come in and contribute right off the bat,'' Suggs said. "This was a team that was a penalty away from the Super Bowl last year, so they're not missing much. Hopefully I can add that extra addition that we can kind of potentially do something special.''