ESPN reporter issues apology to Chiefs star after spreading ‘inaccurate information’

ESPN reporter Nate Taylor has issued a public apology to Kansas City Chiefs star Trey Smith, after sharing ‘inaccurate information’ on a podcast.

Speaking alongside Joshua Brisco and Seth Keysor during an appearance on Only Weird Games, the Chiefs reporter suggested that veteran offensive lineman Smith had taken a thinly-veiled shot at teammate Josh Simmons.

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Simmons has missed weeks of practice with a back injury, with head coach Andy Reid suggesting he’ll be sidelined for a while longer after an issue ‘flared up’ again in recent days.

The 2025 first-round pick missed nine games of his rookie season, and is now a doubt for the Week 1 opener against the Denver Broncos, where the Chiefs will hope to have franchise quarterback Patrick Mahomes back.

Smith has also been dealing with an injury, but returned to practice last week, where he spoke to reporters having recently restructured his contract to free up cap space.

“I just don’t like putting my teammates out in a position where now they’re trying to take extra reps or for me to leave my team hanging,” he said Thursday.

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“I’ve always been sort of been a guy that’s like, ‘If I’m able to go, I’m going to try to go and give as much as I have regardless.’

“You’re never going to feel 100 percent playing football. It’s just part of the job and part of the responsibility. Like EB (offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy) says, we signed up for it.

“At the end of the day, I signed the contract, so it’s my job to be out there.”

While Smith didn’t mention the injury status of any of his teammates, Taylor initially believed that his comments were a dig at Simmons.

What did Nate Taylor say about Trey Smith and Josh Simmons?

“Trey Smith missed some time in training camp with a hip injury. He’s now back to practice. He’s practiced pretty well from what I can glean,” Taylor told his Only Weird Games co-hosts, during a discussion on the veteran’s press conference.

“We just simply asked the question, ‘Hey, what was it like dealing with the hip injury? Andy said you went and saw a specialist. What came out of that? How do you feel? What was it like?’

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“Trey Smith essentially cinched off my eyebrows in that moment, because he didn’t really talk about himself.

“Instead, he said that he doesn’t like missing time because he understands the value and the importance of playing football, of being there for his teammates, of being there for his coaches.

“And Seth, he basically used the podium to talk about a teammate from what I could glean.”

Taylor went on to suggest Smith sounded ‘annoyed’ during his meeting with reporters.

But one day later, he came out on social media to set the record straight.

ESPN reporter offers apology to Chiefs veteran

“My comments in yesterday’s OWG podcast included inaccurate information,” Taylor wrote on X.

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“After chats with those with knowledge of the situation, I was wrong to say that Trey Smith’s quotes after yesterday’s practice were in any way directed toward Josh Simmons.

“My apologies to Trey & everyone.”

To his credit, Taylor quickly owned his mistake, and offered an immediate apology. His post has been viewed more than 200,000 times in 24 hours.

While Smith apparently wasn’t taking a dig at his young teammate during his media availability, Simmons’ injury status being unclear going into Week 1 will be a headache for the Chiefs.

Coach Reid will be hoping his team can bounce back from a disappointing 2025 season against an AFC West rival, and to do that, will need everyone fit and ready.