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"Rookie VS Goat." Read exclusive adventures at empire

Brady showed no respect to Donald Yee, raising his hand to put Li Wei in an awkward position and letting Li Wei fully experience the bitter taste of intense hatred—suddenly, things became complicated and seemed to spiral out of control.

Immediately, Donald called Li Wei, telling him not to mind, for it was Goodell who had created this mess. If it weren’t for the League commissioner’s eagerness to thrust Li Wei into the limelight, there wouldn’t have been such a backlash, making Li Wei a target for public criticism.

"Who caused the trouble, should clean it up. Don’t worry, I’ll make him deeply regret it."

Donald said nonchalantly, causing Li Wei to shudder over the phone, silently praying for Goodell, as he felt Donald was sharpening his knives, now aiming to butcher the League commissioner.

A simple "sorry" was far from enough. Donald needed to make Goodell truly realize Li Wei’s value and further strengthen his resolve to make Li Wei the face of the League.

Initially, Li Wei wanted to say that he could handle whatever came his way and wasn’t afraid at all, in fact, he found it rather amusing and didn’t mind verbally sparring with the media; but Donald took charge of everything, allowing Li Wei to focus entirely on his training.

Meanwhile, apart from Donald, Reed also stopped all the floods and beasts—

"Give the rookie players some space."

With one sentence, he extinguished all the media’s provoking and troublemaking intentions, protecting the players behind him as tightly as a hen protecting her chicks.

Given that the preseason had no fixed post-game press conference schedules, it was entirely up to the coach to decide which players would take interviews. Reed decisively shielded Li Wei, leaving the media with no recourse.

Rarely seen, Reed also displayed his firmness off the field.

This was unlike Reed at all.

Later, Reed admitted that he was inspired by Saban.

Last season, from the end of the season, Crimson Tide Storm had completely refused any form of media interviews, resulting in media encirclement and brutal criticism, but Saban remained unmoved like a mountain, even drawing mockery from the NFL, implying that Saban had been scared by the media.

And the result?

Crimson Tide Storm finished the season undefeated, powerfully slapping the media in the face.

Although during the regular season, due to League regulations, Reed couldn’t do the same, at least for now, Reed could tell those media to get lost.

So.

Li Wei was already eager to engage the media in a real tussle, but had not expected that Donald and Reed, one from within and the other from without, would control the situation so tightly that Li Wei missed his chance to shine.

Frustrating.

Even more dramatically, Reed simply didn’t let Li Wei play in the third preseason game.

Wait, this?

Was that necessary?

The coaching staff of the Kansas City Chiefs had long been aware of this.

Reed wasn’t benching Li Wei; on the contrary, by the first two games, Reed had already confirmed Li Wei’s position as the starting running back, and, like Smith continuing as the starting quarterback, there was no need for either to keep playing.

Not just in the third game, but also in the fourth, Reed didn’t plan to let Li Wei and Smith play.

Throughout the preseason, Smith only played one quarter of a game.

In contrast, led by Hunter, the substitute running backs, and Mahomes, leading the substitute quarterbacks, still needed to fight for a spot on the team. The last two preseason games were their final opportunity.

Especially the quarterbacks, as they needed to memorize, internalize, and apply the playbook; they had to validate their performance during the actual games, so they needed time on the field to fully demonstrate their capabilities.

Reed, everything had already been planned.

However, through the eyes of the media, the situation had completely transformed into something else.

"Li Wei performed poorly and was kicked out of the starting lineup."

"Top Scholar faced rejection, and it is very likely he won’t make the final team roster."

"As the roster deadline approached, Li Wei still couldn’t get a chance to play."

"Reed put Li Wei on ice to let the Top Scholar cool down."

"Kansas City Chiefs shot themselves in the foot, the third pick might be stillborn."

"NFL’s first Chinese first-round pick is not acclimatizing well, maybe it was too rushed?"

"While teammates are fully showcasing themselves, Li Wei can only sit and watch from the sidelines."

"From the team’s favorite to being sidelined, Li Wei’s first lesson in the Professional League: you are not that important."

"Breaking News! Reed and Veach clash, the head coach, and the team manager’s conflict over draft decisions finally erupts." Nôv(el)B\\jnn

What a stir!

All kinds of speculation, countless rumors hung over Kansas City like clouds in the rainy season, lingering, making the team the focus before the season started, following the draft.

Everything happened just as Calvert, the Jacksonville Jaguars team manager, had predicted—

All the spotlight they had been craving was now on the shoulders of the Kansas City Chiefs, even though they salvaged the situation by picking Fournette fourth, the gap between the rookies was just too large!

However, it was uncertain if this was the scenario Veach had hoped to see.

As the situation escalated,

After missing the third preseason game, Li Wei also missed the final preseason game, which hugely disappointed the media.

Because the fourth preseason game was against the Tennessee Titans, the team Derrick Henry played for.

This could have been the first meeting between the two generations of Crimson Tide Storm leaders, as well as a clash between the last two Heisman winners on a professional stage, a guaranteed crowd-puller from any angle.

Unfortunately, it fell through.

Indeed, not only did Li Wei not take the field, but Henry also didn’t appear for the Tennessee Titans.

The leaders of the Crimson Tide Storm from two generations both sat out as spectators.

"30:6".

Tennessee Titans in the lead, followed by the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Kansas City Chiefs, who had stirred up heated discussions with a series of savvy moves at this year’s draft, ended their preseason with a record of two wins and two losses, not a disaster, but certainly not meeting expectations.

And then, the media just couldn’t hold back any longer; the already wild rumors intensified and proliferated through various channels to social media platforms, pushing this frenzy to its peak.

Rumors said, Li Wei was still not adapting to the NFL level of physicality; after a good performance in the first preseason game, he showed signs of fatigue, which led to a drop in performance in the second game, and even a minor strain during that game, which was why Reed put Li Wei on the bench.

Previously, everyone criticized the Washington Redskins for their costly decision to pick Robert Griffin III only to find out he was injury-prone.

But at least Griffin dominated in his rookie season, not only leading his team to the playoffs but also scooping the Rookie of the Year Award; and now, even before the season has begun, Li Wei is struggling?

According to rumors, sources adamantly stated that Reed made this decision to protect Li Wei’s fragile body and self-esteem, and it was because of this that Reed and Veach had a fallout. They spent such a high price only to pick a "greenhouse flower," a running back who needs to handle a lot of physical confrontations, which is truly disheartening.

So, is Li Wei really not up to the mark?